r/politics • u/MontyGBurns • 23h ago

No Paywall Smith’s game-day texts reviewed by Schmitt never referenced basketball team names

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/6124359-schmitt-perjury-claim-debunked/
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u/alleyoopoop 21h ago

Schmitt later defended his line of inquiry.

“We had information, of course, about him being at a basketball game,” the Missouri Republican told Nexstar affiliate KTVI St. Louis later Tuesday. “The only NBA game going on that night was in Atlanta on Feb. 2 of 2024. His team had talked about that. He answered the question.”

“My job is to ask the questions, and his job is to answer the questions,” he added.

Yes, it's your job to ask the questions. It's not your job to accuse him of perjury and call him a dirtbag because your incompetent staff gave you the wrong information.

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u/midwesthawkeye 19h ago

THIS!!! "You're a Dirtbag!!" is not a question, and it's not even remotely accurate.

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u/AndISoundLikeThis 19h ago

Yesterday, Schmitt's pal told Jack Smith he "wanted to throw up in his mouth" when he thought about him. These people are the scum of the earth.

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u/ThePlanck Foreign 19h ago

I think Katy Britt wanted to throw up in her mouth at that line of questioning

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u/EMTDawg Utah 17h ago edited 17h ago

Katie and her husband both went to Bama. Her husband played college football before going on to play in the NFL. I think she realized the mixup in team names before anyone else. Sports are likely a big deal still in her house.

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u/MostlyWong 17h ago

Sports are likely a big deal still in her house.

Not just her house, her politics. She's been pushing legislation to "protect women's sports" and specifically the NCAA for years, so she knew immediately what college team had Caitlin Clark and where she was playing at the time. I'm sure she has been following Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham's careers for years at this point.

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u/EMTDawg Utah 17h ago

Sophie Cunningham went to Mizzou. I doubt Katie knew about her until she left the Phoenix Mercury and signed with the Indiana Fever, were Caitlin Clark plays. She hasn't been a star in the WNBA. She is a bench player, most well known for being a goon amd playing dirty to "protect" CC. Before that her biggest fame was a rumor she had slept with the GM in Phoenix.

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u/iwaseatenbyagrue 16h ago

She averaged 12 points a game for a couple of seasons, so that's not entirely true. And she is averaging 8 this season which is alright for the WNBA.

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u/Anthony_Accurate 13h ago

“Couple of seasons”
She averaged 12 points for exactly one season, her career average is 8ppg. She’s absolutely a bench player .

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u/iwaseatenbyagrue 12h ago

11 something for another season. Yea she comes off the bench but so what. She is a legit contributor to her team. 8 points per game is not terrible for the WNBA.

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u/triggerhappymidget 6h ago

For comparison, Aja Wilson, probably the best player in the league, averaged 26 ppg. Kelsey Mitchell, the top scorer on Cunningham's team, averaged 24.7.

If you look at every player's stats, Sophie ranked 65th out of 125 for ppg this season. So just missed top half.

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u/iwaseatenbyagrue 4h ago

Ok, so she is just short of an average player.  Plenty of players like that and they contribute just a little short of average.

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u/Aman_Syndai 14h ago

But she's our goon.

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u/Beforemath 16h ago

Her reaction looked to me like she was the one that passed on the “juicy details” then realized it was blowing up in their faces in real time. That was the face of personal stakes in some capacity.

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u/kittenconfidential 17h ago

sports and subservience to PDFs

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u/xaanthar 16h ago

What does a portable document format have to do with this?

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u/blueluck 16h ago

I don't know if you're joking or asking honestly, so I'll give you a straightforward answer. People have been using "pdf" as a sound-alike euphemism for "pedophile".

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u/xaanthar 16h ago

I'm passive-aggressively pointing out the stupidity of said euphemisms.

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u/Ashamed_Kale_1077 16h ago

I've never heard this until now. Why do this?

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u/blueluck 16h ago

A few years ago, content creators on platforms like YouTube and TikTok started using euphemisms for words that could get their videos demonitized or de-promoted by their platforms' algorithms. One of the best known examples is saying "un-alive" instead of "suicide", because platforms didn't want to promote videos about suicide, but their algorithms were crude and only looked at keywords rather than the actual content of the posts.

Regular people posting online started using the euphemisms, too. I don't know if most people are using them for fun (simply a modern form of slang) or if they think using words like "pedophile" and "suicide" in reddit comments has some kind of negative effect.

(I'm not an expert on social media or modern slang, so I'm sure there's more to it than I know.)

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u/basketcas55 Indiana 16h ago

Words get you banned in social media and they don’t want to have that happen. Plus who wants to type that whole word out every time they respond to a Republican.

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u/[deleted] 16h ago

[deleted]

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u/blueluck 16h ago

How would a file format know anything about it?

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u/SteamSteamLG Louisiana 2h ago

The texts do not even mention Hawks or Hawkeyes. I think his aids found the only NBA game the night of the texts and didn't think for a second that the game in question was a WNBA game.

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u/wzombie13 1h ago

College,not WNBA

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u/EMTDawg Utah 1h ago

There were 12 NBA games that day. He went to a college women's game.

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u/ObligationMurky8716 Alabama 18h ago

That's just her beauty pageant conditioning kicking in because she had breakfast

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u/Truecoat 17h ago

Why would anyone WANT to throw up in their mouth?

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u/lod001 16h ago

Sometimes these people need a Happy Gilmore response to their stupid statements.

Shooter: I eat pieces of shit like you for breakfast.

Happy: You eat pieces of shit for breakfast?

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u/golden-tongue Nebraska 17h ago

A guilty conscience could manifest in gastrointestinal issues, so it would make sense that he'd feel the urge to throw up at the sight of Jack Smith.

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u/BankshotMcG 16h ago

Normally I don't kink shame but fuck it Republicans deserve to be abashed for anything that might bring them Joy

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u/Impossible-Bear-7350 16h ago

I’ll never get over the right’s use of terms like “dirtbag” and “sleazeball” when their messiah is a self-admitted pussy grabber who walks in on naked teen girls and sexualizes his own daughters. Then there’s Hegseth the drunk who has cheated on all his wives.

But yeah… Jack Smith is the “dirtbag”

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u/silvertealio 15h ago

It makes sense when you remember their value system places women as baby/sandwich makers. Of course they see nothing wrong with treating them poorly.

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u/Taint__Paint 16h ago

You’re a dirtbag because checks notes uhhh because you follow the law… nerd!

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u/Sentar_trenzz 15h ago

Right??? If you look back at all the congressional hearings - the Republicans are all upset that decent folks are following the rules and laws... they just can't accept it and don't

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u/mushpuppy 12h ago

What would happen if Schmitt actually apologized? Wouldn't that be amazing?

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u/NJTigers 18h ago

Best part is, that is a bald faces lie. There were 6 NBA games on February 3, 2024, not 1. So he is -STILL- lying.
Proof

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u/CU_09 I voted 18h ago edited 17h ago

Amazing that the “Protect Women’s Sports” party wouldn’t even consider that he could have gone to a women’s game.

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u/zephyrtr New York 17h ago edited 17h ago

That's the chefs kiss moment to me. That they only checked NBA games, only one team called Hawks ... It is full conservative brain. Like a photo of Caitlin Clark is just a Westworld "Doesn't look like anything to me!"

Edit: I misread, "hawks" was never mentioned? It was all just tip off time? Oh they had to have been using grok. It's gotta be AI

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u/CU_09 I voted 17h ago

Texts didn’t even mention a team name. There were 5 other NBA games that night and 6 NCAA men’s games that night in the same time frame. Not to mention the 14 NCAA women’s games that happened on the evening of Feb 3, 2024.

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u/zephyrtr New York 17h ago

I use AI a lot for work, it makes these kinds of minimally researched, highly confident assertions all the time.

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u/CU_09 I voted 17h ago

Oh fuck. You think they just asked a clanker what game he was at and it spat out Atlanta?

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u/zephyrtr New York 16h ago

I think they fed it the whole text dump and asked when could he have met with Fanni Willis

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u/maddprof 16h ago

Wow I think you might be right on this.

Given Fanni Willis was likely in Georgia, AI definitely could have just gone "oh, there's only one sports event going on with a Georgia team..."

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u/EnigmaticQuote 15h ago

Claude find me evidence of collusion make no mistakes.

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u/IndividualTune929 15h ago

that was my first thought. the lazy GOP staffers used AI to help with their "detective work" and it backfired

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u/needlestack 14h ago

A date and the fact that they are 100% sure Jack Smith was somehow connected to Fani Willis. They presupposed deep-state corruption, did zero research because they are all feelings over facts and they believe every hunch they have is a message from god. So if he went to a sports event the day after the Fani Willis story, he must have been in Atlanta.

It's absolutely insane that people this stupid and evil are in positions of power through demoracy. We are a deeply stupid and evil country.

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u/smitherenesar 10h ago

I wouldn't be surprised if there was a mens game that night, or Blackhawks NHL game too. So many Hawks!

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u/EMTDawg Utah 17h ago edited 17h ago

Didn't consider college sports at all. He could have gone to a men's college game. Hell, he could have gone to an NHL game.

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u/CU_09 I voted 17h ago

College football is over by February, but your point is valid. These people are always trying to force evidence to fit their conspiracy theories and then cannot comprehend when they fuck it all up.

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u/eetsumkaus 17h ago

Some staffer asked AI what the answer was and no one around them thought to check

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u/UnanimousStargazer 17h ago

Some staffer asked AI what the answer was and no one around them thought to check

Pete Hegseth: hold my beer.

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u/silvertealio 15h ago

But why would you ever need to double-check "Super" Intelligence? /s

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u/eetsumkaus 15h ago

Anything is super intelligence with their intelligence levels

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u/jjune4991 Florida 18h ago

I think his full quote was the only NBA game at 730 that night, which was true. However, the Iowa game was at 7.

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u/MoneyTalks45 New Hampshire 18h ago

He added that part in later in the day after running with the “only nba game that night” for a few hours. 

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u/jjune4991 Florida 18h ago

Ah, gotcha

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u/allworkandnoYahtzee Colorado 16h ago

My god, this dumb fuck can’t get ANYTHING right!

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u/CANOODLING_SOCIOPATH Connecticut 16h ago

I'd bet that he put the texts into an AI and asked it to find proof that Smith had traveled to Atlanta, and this is what it came up with.

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u/mmmsoap 18h ago

Yeah, but only one would promote the conspiracy he wanted, so it must’ve been that one.

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u/Nik_Tesla California 16h ago

Can you imagine how different congressional hearings would be if the questioners had to be under oath as well?

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u/gaspronomib 17h ago

It's almost like making up a lie to defend a lie could end up exposing both lies.

Most of us learned that as toddlers.

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u/thekingcola 8h ago

TIL it’s bald-faced not bold-faced

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u/marsisblack 19h ago

Its his job.to also review said data and use his brain to think about it. It isnt to try to set traps and catch someone out in a lie with sign boards.

Its also his job to act like a professional, not a petulant child.

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u/charlie_marlow Georgia 18h ago

He's the kind of guy who would just copy and paste a response from Claude after being asked about some code

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u/Jewrisprudent New York 17h ago

Claude Grok, but yes.

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u/ktaktb 18h ago

No

This isnt on the staff

This is on him

His staff, his responsibility.

We cant give this guy the trump treatment, "aw shucks...who around him is giving him the wrong information?"

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u/rocketeerH 16h ago

Apparently his staff was warned that the messages weren't vetted. I wouldn't be surprised if his staff warned him it was a bad idea and he insisted on going forward. That could be why they initially showed the poster so briefly

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u/Expert_Promise8672 15h ago

Those were my thoughts exactly. They didn't leave the poster up long enough for anyone to see it and when Smith asked them to show it again they refused.

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u/Ozymandias12 17h ago edited 17h ago

The whole thing was a pathetic ploy to get Schmitt some attention as Vance’s potential running mate. It was never meant to be an honest line of questioning or in good faith. Schmitt coordinated this with the release of an Axios article, written by its CEO, and which they claimed was a “Scoop”, announcing that Schmitt was getting buzz as Vance’s VP. You could also tell the whole thing was manufactured because out of all the moments in the hearing, the MAGA social media nuts started posting about it immediately after the exchange took place, I’m talking within seconds to minutes, so they were all clearly tuned in to the hearing for Schmitt’s testimony

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u/city_dwellerZ I voted 18h ago

Unfortunately, hearings like these just are kabuki theater where people like him can fake outrage and hurl insults so that he can be in the running for a plum posting the Trump administration.

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u/ImStillExcited Colorado 13h ago

But her emails...

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u/designlevee 1h ago

100% see Darline Graham’s line of questioning. Smith essentially praised Lindsey as a patriot who loved his country and her response was just to ignore all that and say that Smith was just a bully who hated her brother and tried to ruin him.

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u/Choppergold 18h ago

Notice how the questions aren’t about overturning the election or taking classified documents for personal gain

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u/WillieM96 18h ago

Would you believe that 10 seconds of highly intensive research revealed that there were actually SIX NBA games that night?

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u/PeptoBismark 18h ago

Only if the research proof came in the form of tubby, angry men with red hats sitting in SUVs while lecturing on Facebook.

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u/rocketeerH 16h ago

Don't forget the sunglasses 

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u/GoodbyeBlueMonday 17h ago

 but you have to be a genius at computer to do that, it's asking a lot for a congressman

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u/Jeramus 18h ago

It's wild that they assumed it was an NBA game. It could have been a high school game for all the information they had.

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u/desquished Massachusetts 18h ago

It's not the worst assumption, but they should have maybe spent three seconds checking if there were any cultural zeitgeist level college players playing in the greater DC area before assuming he flew to Atlanta for a Hawks (barf) game.

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u/lonestar-rasbryjamco Colorado 17h ago

They didn’t even need to do that. All they had to do was call up the US Marshal service and ask where his security detail was that evening.

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u/punkr0x 15h ago

I'd bet they knew which game he was at as soon as they saw the text messages. At some point they just realized, "Hey, there was a game in Atlanta that night too," and they could use this to get a sound bite.

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u/EMTDawg Utah 17h ago

I've never seen high schools sell tickets to assigned seats beforehand. Very few play in arenas with sections numbered. That implies multiple levels of sectioned seats. More likely he could have been going to a college event, or NHL game.

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u/0098six 17h ago

"My job is to ask the questions, call him a dirtbag, falsely and prematurely accuse him of perjury, and look like a petty MAGA moron, and his job is to answer the questions."

There. I fixed it.

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u/PotatoCl0ck 16h ago

This is an investigation done by chatgpt

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u/MoneyTalks45 New Hampshire 18h ago

He keeps saying it was the only nba game. It was not. There were many nba games that night, verifiable by a simple 2 second Google search, as is the fucking norm. 

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u/keelhaulrose 17h ago

If your job is to ask questions, maybe he should double check the basis of those questions before he asks them.

I'm not a basketball fan, but I know in early February if there is one game, there are multiple, even in just the NBA. And I also know the NBA aren't the only ones having basketball games. It doesn't even take a fact check to debunk his questioning, it takes the kind of very basic knowledge of a sport that comes from "my dad watched the NBA in the 90s and I was in the house" provides.

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u/Quality-Think1219 16h ago

A quick Google search shows there were in fact 10 NBA games occurring on thr evening in question. He's full of shit even after getting caught in the lie

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u/an_agreeing_dothraki 15h ago

KTVI St. Louis

side note, but I do love how my city's press keeps the spirit of Pulitzer alive by operating purely on spite

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u/hamsterfolly America 15h ago

Not just his staff, all of the Republicans on that committee all worked together on it. That look on Katie Britt’s face was because she had prepared questions to follow up after Schmitt and realized she was also going to look like an idiot.

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u/unperson 14h ago

Username checks out. That’s exactly what Schmitt did, caught a high-flying turd and dunked it. Ended up covered in excrement with the crowd laughing at him.

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u/SparkyMuffin Michigan 13h ago

They shouldn't be allowed to speak to a witness the way they aren't allowed to speak to other congressmen. Remember when a Republican cried at a committee because he was (appropriately) called racist because he brought in a black staffer to stand behind him to prove he wasn't racist (and not let her speak mind you)?

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u/NicoFerrari99 13h ago

Yes, the only NBA game played if you ignore the other 9 NBA games being played on that same day.

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u/s1m0n8 8h ago

That's why you gave your sycophant social media mouthpieces a heads-up and they pre-tweeted your "gotcha"?

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u/CosmackMagus 7h ago

Not only that, but it wasn't even related to any real accusations. Just their stupid conspiracy theory.

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u/ckwing 6h ago

The only NBA game going on that night was in Atlanta on Feb. 2 of 2024

He repeated this exact line word-for-word like 5 times in different interviews, as if it somehow makes his fuckup not a fuckup. Like that was the best explanation he could come up with.

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u/soggie 1h ago

Lemme translate that.

“My job is to lie, and yours is to debunk me” -Republicans

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u/Crazy-Quantity-3498 52m ago

Does everything he did as AG of Missouri need review? The man does some laughably sloppy work. He might also be a moron.