Former special counsel Jack Smith's hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee left a GOP senator with a look that set off howls of online laughter.
On Tuesday, Smith appeared before the committee to defend his two criminal probes into President Donald Trump, and several Republicans suggested Smith should face prosecution. However, Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) created one of the most-talked-about moments already after he appeared to confidently set a perjury trap for Smith.
Schmitt cited text messages from Smith's prosecutorial team about what Schmitt said was Smith's attendance at an Atlanta Hawks game. Smith recalled going to a University of Maryland women's basketball game against the University of Iowa Hawkeyes.
During the awkward moment, cameras for MS NOW covering the hearing live zoomed in slowly on the expression of Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL). While Smith explained he watched the Hawkeyes, not the Hawks, Britt appeared wide-eyed, with her mouth agape, like she was shocked at what she was seeing.
"LMAOOOO," reacted liberal political commentator Jessiah Eberlin, the host of the Pondering Politics podcast. "Her look of UTTER HORROR as she watches MAGA Senator Eric Schmittstain Schmitt end his career in a most humiliating fashion. She opposes abortion and yet Schmitt just aborted his 2028 VP odds on live TV."
Pat Dennis, the president of American Bridge 21st Century, a Democratic-aligned PAC, suggested that MS NOW was "hiring show runners off of The Office."
"This whole saga is incredible," Matthew Kupfer, an editor for Democracy Docket, marveled.
Journalist Andrew Donaldson pointed out that "Sen Britt reax is good, the two staffers who probably know the names of the Schmitt staffers that [are] about to have a really bad day behind her are even better," referring to the men behind Britt who also appeared wide-eyed.
"Sen. Katie Britt — a former congressional staffer herself — knew she was watching a mythical staff f— up," noted MS NOW congressional reporter Matt Fuller. "The type of f— up that interns will hear about as a cautionary tale on their first day of work on June 1, 2047."