Bernie Moreno

The Daily Mail also published what it said was the photo of Moreno's chest. That picture (below) then circulated online.

(X user @MikeJon10117875)

Moreno's attorney reportedly told the Daily Mail:

The photographic evidence speaks for itself. These images, combined with the documented history in court filings, directly contradict years of Mr Miller's denial [ ... ] Any claim that Ms Moreno fabricated these allegations collapses in the face of contemporaneous physical evidence.

Moreno has not publicly commented on the allegations in the Daily Mail report.

Miller's public denial

In a May 7 X post (archived), Miller called the Daily Mail's report "nothing but lies."

In a long thread below that post, Miller shared screenshots of his legal team's apparent response to the newspaper's inquiries, as well as transcripts and audio recordings that Miller supposedly captured at the time, without Moreno's knowledge, "out of concern that she would make false allegations against him down the road."

In a recording Miller said was from 2024, "after the alleged 'Boiling Water' incident," Moreno appeared to say (at 0:35), "I don't think you would ever hurt me, physically, but you have hurt me."

The recording also seemed to include Moreno saying, "What Stephanie did to you was wrong," an apparent reference to Stephanie Grisham, a former White House press secretary during Trump's first term and Miller's ex-girlfriend .

Grisham also accused Miller of abuse in 2021, including in a Washington Post op-ed. Miller filed a defamation lawsuit against Grisham that same year — which he voluntarily dropped in 2023 — claiming on PDF Page 6 that she made the allegations to fuel sales of her book.

The recordings Miller shared feature no obvious signs of manipulation.

Miller files defamation lawsuit against Moreno

Miller's May 13 defamation lawsuit against Moreno accuses her and the law firm representing her, Zashin Law, of engaging in a coordinated campaign to "malign his character, undermine his odds at re-election to Congress, and falsely portray him as a violent and abusive father and husband" ( PDF Page 3 ).

PDF Page 4 of the lawsuit denies all allegations related to the boiling water report and claims that "notably," Moreno never made the allegation during the former couple's custody litigation.

Moreno's spokesperson reportedly told Cleveland.com, a reputable local news media site, that Miller was upset he could not silence Moreno and that the defamation lawsuit showed him "running the same playbook" that he used on Grisham.

Inside the custody filings

Cuyahoga County provided Snopes with about 1,500 pages of documents relating to Miller and Moreno's divorce. They include no indication that Moreno ever made the boiling water allegation in a written court filing. It is unclear whether Moreno made the allegation verbally during in-person hearings, which she requested in a September 2024 filing . (We are not making these documents available in full to protect Moreno's and Miller's child's privacy.)

Moreno did, in multiple filings, accuse Miller of physical and verbal threats and harassment. For example, in a March 2026 filing , Moreno alleged that Miller "regularly speaks to me in an inappropriate, aggressive and demeaning manner" and "has conducted dangerous physical behavior in the child's presence." The filing does not describe what that "dangerous physical behavior" was.

Another April 2026 filing shows Moreno claiming that Miller "harassed and threatened me" both "verbally" and "physically," and that Miller harassed her parents. Evidence provided in the filing includes a text message in which Miller said Sen. Moreno should keep his "lying daughter under control."

Miller denied all of Moreno's accusations related to his allegedly violent behavior in the filings and repeatedly referenced her supposed " erratic " behavior.

'Hot water' incident mentioned in police report

While there is no record of the alleged incident in court filings relating to the custody case, documents from a 2026 police investigation of suspected child abuse involving Miller's young daughter refer to a "hot water" incident in 2024.

Snopes obtained 48 pages of investigative documents from the Bay Village Police Department in Ohio. Per those documents, law enforcement determined allegations made in relation to any sort of abuse were "unsubstantiated" (Page 45).

(Law enforcement redacted all names of the people involved in the report sent to Snopes. However, police sent it in response to an emailed request for documents related to "a child abuse report against Rep. Max Miller.")

Based on the underlying context, the report appears to state that Moreno alleged that she took a picture of bruising on her body after Miller "threw her against the wall" (Page 2).

The report also references "alleged Domestic Violence incidents" on Page 3, including one in 2024 in which a redacted name, presumably Miller, "threw hot water" on someone, presumably Moreno, who sustained injuries.

According to Page 15 of the investigative report, Miller offered full cooperation, including "unrestricted access to his home for law enforcement and child protective services."

Miller and his legal team floated various reasons why Moreno might make false allegations on Page 19 of the report, with Miller claiming Moreno was not "well" and his attorney suggesting she was not receiving "desired attention."

@MaxMillerOH. "Here Is a Recording from 2024. In It, @MsEmilyMoreno Admits 1. Everything Alleged by Stephanie Grisham Was Fabricated and 2. I Have Never Done Anything to Harm Her. Please Note, This Is after the Alleged 'Boiling Water' Incident. @Nieto_phillip You Had This Audio. Why Didn't You Post It?" X (Formerly Twitter), 7 May 2026, x.com/MaxMillerOH/status/2052534328555442335?s=20. Accessed 15 May 2026.

---. "Once Again, the Media Refuses to Tell the Truth. Let Me Be Clear. The Recent Article by the @Dailymail Is Nothing but Lies. My Team Gave You Everything You Needed to Refute These Claims, but Instead, @Nieto_phillip and the @Daily_MailUS Are Stenographers for Someone Who Truly Needs Help." X (Formerly Twitter), 7 May 2026, x.com/MaxMillerOH/status/2052534312264982529?s=20. Accessed 15 May 2026.

Bay Village Police Department Incident Report and Investigative Report Supplements. 2026, media.snopes.com/2026/05/bay_village_police_department_miller_abuse_investigation.pdf. Accessed 15 May 2026.

"Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts." Cuyahogacounty.gov, cpdocket.cp.cuyahogacounty.gov/TOS.aspx. Accessed 15 May 2026.

Eaton, Sabrina. "Rep. Max Miller Ends Defamation Suit against Former WH Spox Stephanie Grisham." Cleveland, 31 Aug. 2023, www.cleveland.com/news/2023/08/rep-max-miller-ends-defamation-suit-against-former-wh-spox-stephanie-grisham.html.

---. "U.S. Rep. Max Miller Sues Ex-Wife and Her Lawyer for Defamation over Abuse Claims." Cleveland.com, 14 May 2026, www.cleveland.com/news/2026/05/us-rep-max-miller-sues-ex-wife-and-her-lawyer-for-defamation-over-abuse-claims.html?outputType=amp.

Grisham, Stephanie. "Stephanie Grisham: I Told the Trumps My Relationship with a White House Staffer Had Turned Abusive. They Didn't Seem to Care." The Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2021, www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/10/05/stephanie-grisham-abusive-relationship-trump-white-house/. Accessed 15 May 2026.

Isenstadt, Alex. "Trump Endorses Primary Rival Challenging Republican Impeachment Supporter." POLITICO, 26 Feb. 2021, www.politico.com/news/2021/02/26/trump-endorses-max-miller-471789.

Julian. 'CONGRESSMAN MAX MILLER FILES COUNTERCLAIM AND THIRD-PARTY COMPLAINT IN RESPONSE TO DEFAMATION SUIT BROUGHT BY CONVICTED ATTACKER'. Zukerman Law, 27 Apr. 2026, https://zukerman-law.com/congressman-max-miller-files-counterclaim-and-third-party-complaint-in-response-to-defamation-suit-brought-by-convicted-attacker/.

Kasler, Karen. "Trump-Endorsed Senate Candidate Bernie Moreno Wins Ohio's GOP Primary." NPR, 19 Mar. 2024, www.npr.org/2024/03/19/1239554686/trump-bernie-moreno-wins-ohio-gop-primary.

Minc LLC. Max Miller v. Emily Moreno, Andrew Zashin and Zashin Law | Complaint. 14 May 2026, media.snopes.com/2026/05/max_miller_v_emily_moreno_defamation_suit.pdf. Accessed 15 May 2026.

Nieto, Phillip. "Chilling Photos Expose Trump-Backed Congressman's 'Abuse'... As Senator's Daughter Reveals Scalding Water Attack and Humiliating Apology Letter." Mail Online, Daily Mail, 7 May 2026, www.dailymail.com/news/article-15796677/trump-congressman-max-miller-abuse-attack-letter.html. Accessed 15 May 2026.

Claim source.

Rascoe, Ayesha. "Once Again, Trump Aide Paints a Picture of a White House Wracked by Chaos, Infighting." NPR, 4 Oct. 2021, www.npr.org/2021/10/04/1042733598/once-again-trump-aide-paints-a-picture-of-a-white-house-wracked-by-chaos-infight. Accessed 15 May 2026.

"Rep. Max Miller Police Investigate Child Neglect Claims in Nasty Custody Battle | Zashin Law." Zashin Law, 2026, www.zashinlaw.com/press/rep-max-miller-child-neglect-claims/. Accessed 15 May 2026.

"Rep. Max Miller's Lawyers Admit He Lied about Witness in Domestic Violence Case against Ex-Wife | Zashin Law." Zashin Law, www.zashinlaw.com/press/rep-max-millers-lawyers-admit-he-lied-about-witness-in-domestic-violence-case-against-ex-wife/. Accessed 15 May 2026.

Sachs, Ron. 'Morrison State Dinner Guest Arrival, Washington, District of Columbia, United States'. Shutterstock, 20 Sept. 2019, https://www.shutterstock.com/editorial/image-editorial/stephanie-grisham-max-miller-arrive-state-dinner-12423711aq.