Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats are asking Chair Chuck Grassley to apologize to former special counsel Jack Smith and provide records related to a claim made by Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt during a Sept. 29 hearing. In a letter led by Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the committee’s top Democrat, lawmakers said Schmitt falsely accused Smith of secretly attending an NBA game in Atlanta to conspire with local prosecutors about charging President Donald Trump. The Democrats want Grassley to turn over the material Schmitt relied on and apologize to Smith on behalf of the committee’s Republicans, with particular attention to Schmitt. The letter said the episode “caused needless confusion, slowed down the business of the Committee” and risked allowing false information to enter the official record without challenge. It called the incident an “embarrassing stain” on the panel. Smith, who served as special counsel under President Joe Biden, investigated Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and his handling of classified documents. His appearance before the Senate committee became a forum for Republicans to criticize his investigations, but Schmitt’s basketball-game allegation shifted attention to the accuracy of claims made during the hearing. The Democrats’ demands sharpen the partisan dispute over the hearing and the committee’s handling of its record. The letter also raises questions about what documentation supported Schmitt’s statement; the requested records have not been described in the available account.