Max Miller allegations draw GOP caution as ex-wife details abuse claims
CNN-obtained police footage shows Emily Moreno alleging abuse by Rep. Max Miller, who has sued her for defamation.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
4 min read
The max miller allegations now shadowing the Ohio Republican include claims from his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, that he physically abused her and once pointed a gun at her head during an argument, according to police footage obtained by CNN.
Moreno, the daughter of Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio, made the allegations during a February interview with Bay Village, Ohio, police tied to a child custody dispute with Rep. Max Miller, according to CNN. Miller, a Republican House member from Ohio, is running for reelection in November.
What are the Max Miller allegations?
In the police interview, Moreno alleged that Miller became angry while she was changing their infant daughter’s diaper at night after she turned on lights to see better, then yelled and pointed a gun at her head, according to CNN’s footage. She also described alleged physical abuse, including an incident when she said she went to Miller’s home to pick up their daughter for a birthday party.
Moreno told police that Miller accused her of taking away his parenting time and threw her into a wall, causing her to fall, according to the interview cited by Rolling Stone. The allegations have not been proven in court.
Miller has taken legal action against Moreno. In May, he filed a defamation case against his ex-wife, alleging she is mentally ill and has bipolar disorder, claims her lawyers deny, according to Rolling Stone.
How have Republicans responded?
House Speaker Mike Johnson was asked last week about allegations involving Miller and Rep. Cory Mills, another Republican House member. Mills has faced allegations of campaign financial fraud and involvement in a February 2025 physical altercation with a woman; police responded in that matter, but Mills was not arrested, according to The Hill.
Johnson’s answer was brief. “The key word there is ‘allegation,’” he said, according to video of the exchange posted by Aaron Rupar on X.
The issue has surfaced as other political misconduct scandals have hit campaigns ahead of the 2026 midterms. Rolling Stone reported that Reps. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, and Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican, resigned from the House, and that Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner suspended his Maine campaign amid sexual assault allegations.
On Fox News earlier this month, Democratic strategist and former Kamala Harris adviser Mike Nellis argued that Republicans were applying a different standard while discussing Platner. Podcaster Rich Zeoli said the segment’s topic was Platner, and Nellis replied, “You let me know when we’re going to book a segment on Max Miller, because I haven’t heard a lot about it through Republicans.”
What did Bernie Moreno say?
Sen. Bernie Moreno has said little publicly about the dispute involving his daughter and Miller. In May, after Miller accused Emily Moreno of defamation, the senator told reporters his “only comment” was that he loved his daughter and that the safety of her and his granddaughter was his top priority, according to a video cited by Rolling Stone.
Rolling Stone reported that the senator has not called for Miller to resign or be expelled from the House.
What else has been reported?
Mother Jones reported that the Ohio Department of Children and Youth looked into how Miller’s then-2-year-old daughter broke her collarbone in March. Both Miller and Moreno said they did not know how the injury happened, and Miller suggested it may have involved a seatbelt, according to Mother Jones.
Investigators did not find enough evidence to determine the child had been abused or neglected, Rolling Stone reported. Mother Jones also cited a document quoting Moreno as saying her daughter once said, “Daddy’s house is scary.”
Separately, Miller’s former girlfriend, ex-White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, accused him in early July of breaking a confidentiality agreement connected to an earlier defamation case, according to Spectrum News. Miller had previously sued Grisham after she wrote in a book that an ex-boyfriend who worked in the White House, a description Rolling Stone said fit Miller, had been physically abusive.
This story draws on original reporting from Rolling Stone.