A GOP operative who helped spread a false rumor about Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico is now admitting the story was false—and offering a bizarre defense of it.

Earlier this month, Talarico came down with the flu and took nine days off the campaign trail to recover.

During that period, Rhein Amacher and fellow right-wing activist Nick Sorter spread a rumor that Talarico had flown to the Lindner Center of Hope in Cincinnati, Ohio, to be treated for a mental health episode he suffered.

Although Amacher claimed a call to the center confirmed Talarico had been there, the story fell apart after it was shown that Talarico appeared on stage in Texas with country star Kacey Musgraves the same day he was allegedly discharged from the center.

Amacher tried to defend his actions in a lengthy social media post early Thursday morning, saying that “this entire situation has been blown completely out of proportion.”

He then stated the “facts” as he saw them:

I contacted the medical facility after receiving a tip suggesting that Talarico might have been a patient there.

During that conversation, I pressed an employee for information, and the employee ultimately stated that Talarico had been discharged from the facility within the previous 24 hours.

Approximately 12 hours later, the Lindner Center issued an official statement contradicting what its employee had told me, denying that Talarico had ever been a patient at the facility.

That’s where the facts stand. I reported what I was told, released the recordings in full, and acknowledged the facility’s subsequent denial.

Amacher admitted he had “no independently verified evidence establishing that Talarico was ever a patient there,” and insisted he’s “not going to speculate beyond the information available or continue fueling a controversy based on an unverified claim.”

He added that as far as he was concerned, “this matter is closed,” and said, “it’s time to move on to more substantive issues facing voters.”

My final statement regarding the @JamesTalarico and @LindnerCtrHope situation:I’ve made all the recordings publicly available on my 𝕏 account so everyone can listen and draw their own conclusions.Frankly, this entire situation has been blown completely out of proportion.…

As you can probably guess, many people laid into Amacher for spreading the rumor, including a Houston man named John Graves:

You showed that you don’t care whether you are telling the truth if you think lies will help your cause. Whatever credibility you may have had is gone. People will read you now only to mock you.

Amacher then responded to Graves with a defense that could be described as ... questionable.

Never lied, I just doubled down on wrong information.

Amacher’s excuse was met with both mockery and even grudging respect for his shamelessness, often in the same post.

Okay, this is a solid point. You never lied. You just double down on claims you made that you knew from the beginning were false.

this might be one of the best quotes I've ever seen https://t.co/FSf1khf6x4

Unfortunately a banger, will be weaponizing in the future. https://t.co/fBgIkrhpdt

I should’ve used this one when I was lying to my parents as a kid https://t.co/pUO5WYOYKY

"I'm not a liar. I was just stupid twice." https://t.co/OQiAkmdAjI pic.twitter.com/rNmf1XwGK5

https://t.co/tyAPkArqq3 pic.twitter.com/K1cotKsWI7

This is the guy who made up that complete lie about James Talarico going to a mental facility in Ohio. Possibly the funniest line of defense I’ve ever seen lmao. https://t.co/lkhuBwFSHI

When you're broke by 8PM Friday at the blackjack table https://t.co/0McD3ftE7j

Others suggested that Amacher’s mea culpa would be useful if Talarico decided to sue for defamation.

Dude this is what you did: In a defamation case, "actual malice" means the person who made the statement either knew it was false or acted with a reckless disregard for the truth.

Lawyers love/hate it when prospective litigants confirm the details of their tortious conduct. https://t.co/m29b2aJCTA

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