1. United States
2. Mo.
3. Letter

Sen. Schmitt's behavior at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week was an embarrassment to Missouri and to the institution itself. He accused Jack Smith of perjury based on a poster board of texts that didn't mention Atlanta, while Smith wasn't even at an Atlanta Hawks game — he attended an Iowa Hawkeyes game in Maryland. Schmitt got the team, the city, and the sport wrong, and when called out, his defense was "my job is to ask the questions." That's not oversight. That's a performance. Sen. Amy Klobuchar was right that Schmitt owed Smith an apology. Instead, he went on The Charlie Kirk Show to double down. Missouri deserves a senator who does the homework before leveling perjury accusations in a nationally televised hearing. Schmitt has shown he can legislate — the Protect College Sports Act passed 77-22 after real bipartisan negotiation. That version of him should show up to work. The one who reaches the verdict before checking the facts needs to be held accountable.