WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
  • Talarico’s email address appeared in records from the 2011 breach of adult dating site Fling.com.
  • The associated profile listed interests including fetish, group sex, sexual relations, online flirting, and other.
  • Talarico’s lawyers said a hacker created the account and noted that it was active for only 54 seconds.
  • Townhall reported that the email carried a validated flag and appeared in other leaked records and a commercial people search report.
  • Despite a legal warning from Talarico’s lawyers, Townhall published its findings.

Texas State Rep. James Talarico is facing a highly personal controversy after an email address belonging to him appeared in leaked records from an adult dating site. The report adds fuel to criticism already surrounding the Democrat’s online activity and political interests.

The original column accused Talarico of having a bizarre obsession with “trans kids” and highlighted his support for drag queens. It also claimed his personal Instagram account follows porn stars and escorts.

On Friday, Townhall reported that an email address belonging to Talarico appears in records exposed by the 2011 breach of Fling.com. The adult dating profile connected to that email used the username “mohawk787.”

According to the leaked records cited by Townhall, the profile listed its interests as “FETISH,” “GROUPSEX,” “SEXUAL RELATIONS,” “ONLINE FLIRTING,” and “OTHER.” The column responded by dubbing the Texas lawmaker “Talafreako.”

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Townhall said it sent the findings to Talarico’s campaign on Friday morning. Just 35 minutes later, lawyers representing Talarico responded with a four page letter threatening potential legal action.

Those lawyers work for the firm of Democratic attorney Marc Elias. Their central explanation was that someone created the Fling.com account after hacking Talarico’s email address.

“Mr. Talarico never created an account on Fling.com, and objective evidence confirms it,” the lawyers wrote. They presented the campaign’s position as an outright denial that Talarico created or used the account.

“The account you are referencing was created using a hacked email address. It was also never used—it was active for a grand total of 54 seconds on Fling.com,” the letter continued.

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Townhall said the lawyers provided no evidence supporting the hacking claim and failed to address several findings included in the report. The response did, however, confirm that the email address connected to the Fling.com profile belongs to Talarico.

The lawyers did not dispute that the breach occurred or that the leaked records are authentic. Instead, they argued that the birth date and ZIP code listed on the profile do not match Talarico’s information.

Records also showed that the account’s creation and last login occurred 54 seconds apart, with no later login recorded before the leak. The brief window does not conclusively establish that the account was never used again.

Another point involved the “validated” field attached to the email address in the Fling.com records. That field was marked “Y,” while the database structure published by security researcher Troy Hunt indicated that the field defaulted to “N.”

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The report interpreted the flag as evidence that someone verified the email address connected to the profile. It did not provide direct evidence identifying who completed that verification.

Townhall also reported that the same email address appears in leaked Myspace and Zynga records. A commercial people search report for “Jimmy D Talarico” also lists the address.

The IP address used to create the Fling.com account reportedly appears on a Neopets account registered to an email connected to Talarico’s sister, Madeline. The lawyers did not contest that match, and the search tool placed the IP address in Austin.

“We therefore demand that Townhall cease and desist from publishing any statement stating or implying that Mr. Talarico created, owned, or used the Fling.com account or any other account on that website,” the lawyers wrote.

“If you publish anyway, our clients will be free to hold Townhall accountable in court for the resulting harm,” the letter warned. Townhall nevertheless published its report, while Talarico’s lawyers continued to deny that he created or used the account.