Ohio mental hospital now denies that Democrat U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico was ever a patient.
The Lindner Center of Hope in Mason, Ohio posted the denial on X on Sunday, October 11: "Representative James Talarico has never received treatment from Lindner Center of Hope." Talarico himself quote-posted it with six words: "I've never even been to Ohio."
The denial came hours after a recorded phone call went public. In the audio, posted by conservative journalist Nick Sortor, a woman who identified herself as an employee at the facility told callers that Talarico had just been discharged. "It looks like he was just discharged this evening," the woman can be heard saying. Sortor and political strategist Rhein Amacher said the recording showed Talarico had been at the facility while his campaign claimed he was home in Austin with the flu.
Talarico's campaign moved fast to kill the story. Spokesman JT Ennis called it "a lie designed to promote a pathetic conspiracy theory," insisting: "Last week James Talarico was home in Austin, Texas recovering from the flu." Talarico himself gave an interview to MS NOW on Sunday: "I had the flu. This is the craziest thing I've ever heard. It's wild that someone can just post something on the internet and then the media just runs with it."
But the denial raised its own questions. The facility had reportedly told callers it would "never disclose, confirm, or deny who our patients are here" — then turned around and issued a flat denial naming Talarico specifically. Amacher also pointed to flight records showing an Austin-based private jet that flew to Butler County Airport in Hamilton, Ohio, roughly 20 minutes from the Lindner Center.
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller weighed in Sunday: "Talafreako needs to release the medical records."
Background: Talarico had been out of public view for about nine days, from September 30 to October 9. His campaign said he was recovering from the flu at home in Austin. He reappeared at the Austin City Limits music festival on October 9, then demanded a debate with Republican rival Ken Paxton.
The claim started with the employee's recorded comments. The official denial followed quickly after. What is not in dispute: a Senate candidate vanished for nine days, a hospital worker said on tape that he was discharged from a mental health facility, and now both the hospital and the candidate say it never happened.
Never miss a story.
Join our Telegram channel and get every article link the second it's published.
Join Telegram Channel