Sen. Moreno goes nuclear on ex-son-in-law Rep. Miller

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) condemned Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) on Sunday, characterizing him as a "danger" and calling for his resignation. Miller, who is running for re-election, has denied the allegations advanced by his ex-father-in-law and indicated that he will not scuttle his re-election campaign.

How it started

In May 2021, then-congressional candidate Miller got engaged to Emily Moreno, the daughter of then-Senate candidate Bernie Moreno. The lovers had met while working for Secretary of State Marco Rubio's failed presidential campaign in 2015 and got married in a civil ceremony on Aug. 17, 2022.

'I'm winning in November.'

In November 2023, the couple welcomed a daughter into the world, but by that time, their relationship was apparently already falling apart.

Miller — who years earlier was accused by ex-girlfriend and ex-White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham of physical abuse that the congressman's lawyer said "never happened" — filed for divorce in August 2024. According to a court filing, Emily Moreno Miller had moved with their daughter into a house earlier that month that had been allegedly purchased by a company owned by Sen. Moreno.

As the divorce proceedings grew uglier, a spokeswoman for Sen. Moreno stressed that "it's a private family matter" and the senator would not be making further comments.

The couple's divorce was finalized last year. However, their custody battle raged on, and just recently, a leftist site dug up allegations from court filings that paint Miller in a particularly unflattering light.

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Mother Jones, citing a trove of court filings and police reports obtained through public records requests, last month detailed allegations of verbal abuse by Miller as well as drug use and violent behavior against multiple individuals.

The leftist site highlighted records related to an investigation by Cuyahoga County’s Division of Child and Family Services into how the couple's daughter ended up with a broken collar bone — an injury that was not proven to have been the result of abuse. The records reportedly show that Emily Moreno told the detectives investigating the broken bone that Miller allegedly threw hot water at her in June 2024, pushed her, and put a gun to her head.

Mother Jones acknowledged that "some of the accusations contained in the records have not been conclusively proven by a court or law enforcement agency," and noted that Emily Moreno "never filed a police report against Miller for harm she says he inflicted on her."

How it's going

On Sunday morning, Miller — who sued Emily Moreno earlier this year for alleged defamation and suggested in a recent interview that his ex-wife has untreated bipolar disorder and "sadly isn't all there" — shared a nearly 20-minute video to X where he not only rejects his characterization as an abusive husband and father but confronted and denied each of the key allegations raised against him.

Miller also made clear that he wasn't dropping out: "I'm not getting out of this race, and I'm winning in November."

The congressman concluded his video by emphasizing that he will "hold strong" and clear his name and urging skeptics to review the packet of court documents he also released on Sunday, which the congressman evidently regards as exculpatory.

'I personally wouldn’t wait two years before holding him accountable.'

The summary accompanying the "evidence packet" claims that: "every abuse allegation that has been investigated has been resolved in Miller's favor"; "Moreno's own sworn and recorded statements directly contradict her abuse allegations," including her October 2024 statement that Miller had never harmed their daughter; "no court has ever found that Miller abused anyone"; and in the "'boiling water' incident," Miller had only sprayed his ex-wife with tap water from the sink sprayer.

Stefan Mychajliw, a spokesman for Emily Moreno, said in a statement, "It is shameful that Max Miller decided to go on a bizarre and lie-filled rant about his ex-wife to desperately try to save his political career. There is a documented trove of evidence that Miller has a history of violent and dangerous behavior and no amount of victim shaming will change that."

"Miller can lie and spin on X, but he cannot do so under oath in a court of law," added the spokesman. "We are confident that justice will prevail in court."

Sen. Moreno, among those not buying what his former son-in-law is selling, penned a lengthy social media post on Sunday, stating, "As a father and husband, I can tell you the last two years have been pure hell for my wife Bridget, our daughter Emily, me, and our entire family in the aftermath of Emily's divorce."

"It has been horrific to watch this play out in full public view, all while knowing an innocent two-year-old girl is caught in the middle," continued the senator. "Our priority has always been protecting our daughter and our granddaughter. Out of concern for the safety of my family, I hoped to keep this matter private but Max Miller’s increasingly erratic and dangerous behavior has made that impossible."

Sen. Moreno noted further that "Max Miller needs serious psychological help. He is a danger to my daughter, and I hold my breath every minute he has custody of my granddaughter."

According to the senator, Miller's character is unbecoming of an elected official, and "he should not serve in the House of Representatives."

Miller said in response to Sen. Moreno's post, "If my daughter said the same thing to me, I personally wouldn’t wait two years before holding him accountable. You know this isn’t true and the only reason you are speaking out now is to hide from your own media circus. This is all political."

When asked over the weekend whether Miller should resign, President Donald Trump — who previously endorsed him — said, "Well, I'm going to look at it. I mean so far it's accusations."

A poll conducted in late June had Miller leading Democratic challenger Brian Poindexter by only one percentage point.

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