I don't enjoy that this "article" underplays just how callous Schmitt's stunt was. Before the testimony even took place, his team shipped prepackaged talking points to a bunch of alt right influencers (and Sean Hannity, for some reason). Some of these couldn't hold off and posted before the exchange even took place. This demonstrates not only that Schmitt thought that Smith was in Atlanta based only off the name of a basketball team which he had gotten wrong, but also that he had already concluded that Smith would lie about being at the game because his being present somewhere in the same city when the Fani Willis affair broke was somehow evidence of collusion. They had no. evidence. of any meetings with prosecutors in Atlanta, just that Smith might have been at a basketball game in the city. This was somehow enough for Schmitt to plot his smug Joseph Welch "at long last" moment, just to have it fall apart after 5 minutes of scrutiny. If anyone hasn't watched the video yet, I would urge you to do so. It's a perfect encapsulation of just how desperate Republicans are to curry Trump's favor.