Max Miller

CLEVELAND — The ex-wife of U.S. Rep. Max Miller has said on the record that her he flung hot water on her.

Emily Moreno filed legal papers Wednesday that ask a Cuyahoga County judge to throw out the defamation lawsuit he filed against her earlier this month, and claim that he physically abused her during their marriage.

Emily Moreno’s motion argues that Miller — described in the filing as “a powerful, affluent congressman” — is attempting to “crush his critics, intimidate his accusers, and silence the victims of his own misconduct.”

The filing also includes photos of bruises and red marks on Moreno’s skin and what it says is a handwritten note from Miller.

The motion for expedited relief, filed in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court before Judge Joy Kennedy, invokes the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act — known as UPEPA — an anti-SLAPP law which Ohio adopted last year to shield people from lawsuits designed to punish them for speaking out on matters of public concern.

Her lead attorney, Subodh Chandra of The Chandra Law Firm in Cleveland, said Miller is using the courts as a weapon.

“This is the latest example of Congressman Miller seeking to silence and intimidate a woman who has information about his behavior,” Chandra said in a statement. “But the First Amendment and Ohio law rightly don’t allow a public official to weaponize the courts to punish a victim for speech on a matter of public concern. And few things could be of greater public concern than potential violent conduct by an elected official. We are asking the court to end this vexatious litigation and make Miller pay for the unnecessary expense he’s imposing on his ex-wife.”

Moreno is the daughter of U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, a Westlake Republican.

A spokesperson for Miller said the Bay Village Republican’s lawsuit “was filed to address false and defamatory accusations that caused serious personal, professional, and political harm - not to silence anyone.”

“Labeling the case a ‘SLAPP’ lawsuit is nothing more than a legal and public relations stunt designed to distract from the core issue: whether false statements were knowingly made and weaponized during an intensely personal family dispute,” said a statement from the spokesperson. “Congressman Miller remains focused on what matters most - protecting the best interests and privacy of his daughter and moving beyond the circus that has too often overtaken these proceedings.”

Miller sued Moreno and her attorney, Andrew Zashin and Zashin Law LLC. His lawsuit claims that Moreno and Zashin orchestrated a “coordinated defamation campaign” against him through media outlets such as the New York Post, TMZ, the Daily Mail and The Daily Beast, falsely depicting him as violent and abusive towards Moreno and the couple’s two-year-old daughter.

The hot water

Emily Moreno’s motion, filed Wednesday, describes an incident on June 8, 2024, in which Moreno told Miller she planned to leave him.

According to the filing, Miller — who was cooking eggs at the time — threw hot water from the pan onto Moreno, knocking her to the floor, then pulled out the kitchen sink sprayer and sprayed her with it.

Moreno then took their toddler and fled to her parents’ home, according to the motion, which also states that she photographed her injuries.

In an affidavit submitted to the court, Moreno stated she didn’t report the incident to police at the time because she didn’t think anyone would believe her.

“Congressman Miller, my toddler and I were the only people present and it would be his word against mine,” the affidavit says, noting that she subsequently mentioned it to others as part of their child custody case.

The court filing says that during a May 12, 2026, deposition in the couple’s domestic relations case, court-appointed parenting coordinator Deborah Koricke testified that Miller himself confirmed he sprayed Moreno with the sink hose — though the filing notes he tried to characterize it as a joke.

The motion also includes what it describes as a handwritten letter from Miller to Moreno written the same day as the incident, in which he wrote: “I do know you love me, protect me, and care for me. I failed to do that for you.”

The letter continues: “I’m sorry I failed you and [daughter]. …I’m so sorry.”

Miller’s lawsuit denied the letter exists. Emily Moreno’s motion notes the contradiction.

Moreno says she didn’t tip off the Daily Mail

A central argument in the motion is that Moreno did not cause The Daily Mail to publish the article at the heart of Miller’s lawsuit.

The filing states Moreno never spoke to Daily Mail reporters and never directed anyone to leak information on her behalf. It argues that the information was already part of the public record — in domestic relations filings, a Bay Village police report from February 2026 and deposition transcripts that Miller’s own attorneys filed with the court.

“Since August 2024, outside of any attorney-client privileged communications, I have not spoken to anyone about the incident except the Bay Village police and our court-appointed parenting coordinator,” the affidavit states.

The motion also notes that Miller himself posted to his campaign account on X nearly a dozen times, directly tagging the Daily Mail reporter who broke the story — an example of what the filing calls the “Streisand effect,” a phenomenon in which attempts to suppress information only draw more attention to it.

Statute of limitations and protected speech

Moreno’s motion argues that even if she had made statements to others about the alleged abuse, the one-year statute of limitations for defamation under Ohio law has already run.

It also states “accusations of abuse against a congressman/congressional candidate are matters of public concern — and are protected speech” under UPEPA, and that the First Amendment specifically protects speech about a candidate’s personal conduct and fitness for office.

It cites a string of recent congressional misconduct cases that have drawn widespread media coverage as evidence that the public has a legitimate interest in knowing about elected officials’ alleged behavior.

Under UPEPA, if Judge Kennedy grants the motion, she would be required to dismiss Miller’s lawsuit with prejudice and order him to pay Moreno’s attorney fees, court costs and other litigation expenses.

Miller’s litigation history

Miller’s lawsuit against Moreno is not his first attempt to use defamation litigation to counter abuse allegations.

In October 2021, Miller sued his former girlfriend, former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, over her accusations that he physically abused her while both worked as White House staffers during President Donald Trump’s first administration. Miller voluntarily dismissed that lawsuit with prejudice in August 2023.

Miller and Moreno, who divorced last year, are also separately engaged in a custody battle over their two-year-old daughter in Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court.