By Mia McCarthy
08/02/2026 11:09 AM EDT|
POLITICO
Sen. Bernie Moreno, the father of Emily Moreno who made allegations of domestic and child abuse to her ex-husband Rep. Max Miller, denounced the Ohio Republican for the first time Sunday, calling for him to exit the House.
“‘He should not serve in the House of Representatives,” the Republican Ohio senator said of Miller in a post on X. “I believe Max Miller needs to seek professional help to end the clear pattern of abuse he has left in his wake. I believe he should not be free to continue endangering others until he does.”
Miller quickly responded on X shortly after, calling the senator’s comments “political.”
“If my daughter said the same thing to me, I personally wouldn’t wait two years before holding him accountable,” Miller said in a response on X. “You know this isn’t true and the only reason you are speaking out now is to hide from your own media circus.”
Bernie Moreno wanted to weigh in on the allegations earlier, but Emily Moreno told him she didn’t want her daughter to read about him attacking Miller, a sentiment that changed after Sunday’s livestream, a person close to the family told POLITICO.
Bernie Moreno’s statement comes after Miller made a public video on Sunday morning, attempting to clear his name from allegations of domestic and child abuse that he denies. He argued that his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, faced serious mental health challenges and posted a dropbox with documents he said would be further evidence to defend him.
“Just want to be clear: no court, no agency has ever substantiated any allegation of abuse against me. No criminal charge has ever been filed against me,” Miller said on a livestream on Sunday. “Every single one of these allegations were already investigated, and I cooperated fully every single time because I had nothing to hide and I have nothing to hide now.”
In a statement, Emily Moreno’s spokesperson Stefan Mychajliw said it was “shameful” for Miller “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,” Mychajliw said in a statement on X. “It is despicable and abhorrent that Miller lied on an unhinged and humiliating video for their daughter to watch one day.”
He added, “No loving parent would have ever used their daughter as a PR pawn to save their own political career. Miller can lie and spin on X, but he cannot do so under oath in a court of law. We are confident that justice will prevail in court.”
New details on allegations that Miller poured hot water on Emily Moreno, held a gun to her head and broke his daughter’s collarbone have drawn attention to his Ohio House race.
Miller attributed the accusation of pouring hot water on his ex-wife to “horseplay in our kitchen,” when he sprayed water from a sprayer attached to the sink. He also pointed to past comments from Emily Moreno that Miller had never harmed their daughter and that she had offered to cook empanadas and go to the playground with Miller after the alleged abuse.
“My former wife would not have been offering to cook me dinner and inviting me to playgrounds,” Miller said. “And I certainly would not have joint custody of my daughter.”
Sunday’s statement is the first from Bernie Moreno directly weighing in on Miller ahead of Wednesday’s deadline to put someone else on the ballot. Miller has made no indication he’ll drop out of the race, and Democrats now see the district as a potential flip opportunity.
Republicans, meanwhile, have largely been silent, and previously, Bernie Moreno himself had made few comments on the incident, noting in a statement through a spokesperson he doesn’t “litigate these matters in the media” and that his “top priority is the safety and well-being of his daughter and granddaughter.”
But he went further than he had before with his statement following Miller’s extensive comments on Sunday’s livestream, writing in his X post, “It has been horrific to watch this play out in full public view.”
“Our priority has always been protecting our daughter and our granddaughter,” Bernie Moreno said. “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.”
He added, “As he has admitted privately, 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.”
In addition to denying the allegations, Miller has sued Emily Moreno and her lawyer for defamation. Emily Moreno’s lawyer also filed a restraining order against Miller this week.
In the livestream, Miller once again argued that his ex-wife has “medically diagnosed” mental health challenges and that each of the allegations comes from her. He said he is “not raising that to embarrass her, to attack her” but that he hopes “she received every bit of care and support that she needs.”
“My former wife is engaging in a pattern of reporting incredible, serious, and destructive allegations with absolutely no evidence,” Miller said. “Every one of these allegations was investigated.”
He also blamed the media and encouraged reporters to look at the dropbox with documents.
“The left-wing media already has a narrative that’s chopping it up into reality for them. So I’m going to use my platform to share the facts in this very genuine way,” Miller said in a livestream Sunday morning.
Coming from a wealthy, prominent Cleveland family, Miller got his start doing advance work for President Donald Trump on his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. He was elected to Congress in 2022 to represent the suburban Cleveland district — where he has since been a vocal critic of Speaker Mike Johnson.
Miller also previously faced accusations from former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, which he has denied through an attorney.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, the father of Emily Moreno who made allegations of domestic and child abuse to her ex-husband Rep. Max Miller, denounced the Ohio Republican for the first time Sunday, calling for him to exit the House.
“‘He should not serve in the House of Representatives,” the Republican Ohio senator said of Miller in a post on X. “I believe Max Miller needs to seek professional help to end the clear pattern of abuse he has left in his wake. I believe he should not be free to continue endangering others until he does.”
Miller quickly responded on X shortly after, calling the senator’s comments “political.”
“If my daughter said the same thing to me, I personally wouldn’t wait two years before holding him accountable,” Miller said in a response on X. “You know this isn’t true and the only reason you are speaking out now is to hide from your own media circus.”
Bernie Moreno wanted to weigh in on the allegations earlier, but Emily Moreno told him she didn’t want her daughter to read about him attacking Miller, a sentiment that changed after Sunday’s livestream, a person close to the family told POLITICO.
Bernie Moreno’s statement comes after Miller made a public video on Sunday morning, attempting to clear his name from allegations of domestic and child abuse that he denies. He argued that his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, faced serious mental health challenges and posted a dropbox with documents he said would be further evidence to defend him.
“Just want to be clear: no court, no agency has ever substantiated any allegation of abuse against me. No criminal charge has ever been filed against me,” Miller said on a livestream on Sunday. “Every single one of these allegations were already investigated, and I cooperated fully every single time because I had nothing to hide and I have nothing to hide now.”
In a statement, Emily Moreno’s spokesperson Stefan Mychajliw said it was “shameful” for Miller “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,” Mychajliw said in a statement on X. “It is despicable and abhorrent that Miller lied on an unhinged and humiliating video for their daughter to watch one day.”
He added, “No loving parent would have ever used their daughter as a PR pawn to save their own political career. Miller can lie and spin on X, but he cannot do so under oath in a court of law. We are confident that justice will prevail in court.”
New details on allegations that Miller poured hot water on Emily Moreno, held a gun to her head and broke his daughter’s collarbone have drawn attention to his Ohio House race.
Miller attributed the accusation of pouring hot water on his ex-wife to “horseplay in our kitchen,” when he sprayed water from a sprayer attached to the sink. He also pointed to past comments from Emily Moreno that Miller had never harmed their daughter and that she had offered to cook empanadas and go to the playground with Miller after the alleged abuse.
“My former wife would not have been offering to cook me dinner and inviting me to playgrounds,” Miller said. “And I certainly would not have joint custody of my daughter.”
Sunday’s statement is the first from Bernie Moreno directly weighing in on Miller ahead of Wednesday’s deadline to put someone else on the ballot. Miller has made no indication he’ll drop out of the race, and Democrats now see the district as a potential flip opportunity.
Republicans, meanwhile, have largely been silent, and previously, Bernie Moreno himself had made few comments on the incident, noting in a statement through a spokesperson he doesn’t “litigate these matters in the media” and that his “top priority is the safety and well-being of his daughter and granddaughter.”
But he went further than he had before with his statement following Miller’s extensive comments on Sunday’s livestream, writing in his X post, “It has been horrific to watch this play out in full public view.”
“Our priority has always been protecting our daughter and our granddaughter,” Bernie Moreno said. “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.”
He added, “As he has admitted privately, 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.”
In addition to denying the allegations, Miller has sued Emily Moreno and her lawyer for defamation. Emily Moreno’s lawyer also filed a restraining order against Miller this week.
In the livestream, Miller once again argued that his ex-wife has “medically diagnosed” mental health challenges and that each of the allegations comes from her. He said he is “not raising that to embarrass her, to attack her” but that he hopes “she received every bit of care and support that she needs.”
“My former wife is engaging in a pattern of reporting incredible, serious, and destructive allegations with absolutely no evidence,” Miller said. “Every one of these allegations was investigated.”
He also blamed the media and encouraged reporters to look at the dropbox with documents.
“The left-wing media already has a narrative that’s chopping it up into reality for them. So I’m going to use my platform to share the facts in this very genuine way,” Miller said in a livestream Sunday morning.
Coming from a wealthy, prominent Cleveland family, Miller got his start doing advance work for President Donald Trump on his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. He was elected to Congress in 2022 to represent the suburban Cleveland district — where he has since been a vocal critic of Speaker Mike Johnson.
Miller also previously faced accusations from former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, which he has denied through an attorney.
No comments:
Post a Comment