Max Miller

Topline

Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, is vehemently denying abuse allegations made by his ex-wife and Sen. Bernie Moreno’s, R-Ohio, daughter, Emily Moreno, prompting the senator to speak out publicly against his former son-in-law—pitting two Trump allies against each other amid Miller’s reelection campaign.

Key Facts

Crucial Quote

“It's a very sad thing. I know Max. He's a good person,” President Donald Trump said Monday. “I'm going to let the families figure that out. It's a very sad thing . . . but it's accusations, and I'm gonna let them figure that out.”

Tangent

Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, who dated Miller, accused him of pushing her against a wall and slapping her in the face in 2020, she wrote in a Washington Post op-ed in connection with the release of her memoir. She did not name Miller at the time, but the description made it obvious she was referring to him. He sued her for defamation, and they settled the lawsuit. She filed a new lawsuit against him last month, claiming he violated the agreement by making disparaging remarks about her while discussing Emily Moreno’s allegations against him.

Key Background

Allegations of physical abuse made by Moreno against Miller first became public in May in the Daily Mail, which published photos of bruises Moreno said were caused by the abuse. Mother Jones then published a lengthy report in July based on court filings and police records it obtained detailing investigations into several reports of abuse made by Moreno against Miller, including the February broken collarbone incident. Moreno did not explicitly accuse Miller of breaking their daughter’s collarbone, according to Mother Jones, but told detectives Miller had previously thrown hot water at her and held a gun to her head. She also told detectives she never sought criminal charges against Miller, because she feared “no one would believe her,” Mother Jones reported. Child services investigators in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, where the couple lived, reportedly found the child abuse allegations were “unsubstantiated,” though one of the detectives wrote that the injury was “suspicious.” In the court records reviewed by Mother Jones, Moreno accused Miller of violent behavior toward women dating back to high school. Politico in 2021 also published an extensive report, based on public records and interviews with more than 60 people, who detailed allegations of volatile behavior by Miller, including allegedly pushing a girl, causing her to fall down the stairs, in high school after she denied his advances, a claim he denied to Politico through his attorney, and a 2011 arrest for operating a vehicle while impaired. The Washington Post also reported on some of the earlier accusations detailed by Politico in a 2018 article about inexperienced Trump appointees, including a 2007 incident in which Miller was charged with punching a man in the back of the head and running from police (he pleaded no contest and the case was dismissed). In 2009, he was charged with underage drinking (the case was dismissed in a first offenders’ program) and in 2010, he was charged with disorderly conduct related to a fight outside of a hookah bar (he pleaded guilty), The Washington Post reported.

further reading

Ex-Trump aide files defamation suit over abuse allegations (Associated Press)

Max Miller, Accused of Abuse, Is Not Stepping Aside. Here’s What We Know. (New York Times)