Assault, Misogyny, Verbal Threats: Records Detail New Allegations Against Rep. Max Miller

In mid-March, two detectives, an Ohio county Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) caseworker, and a Cleveland Clinic physician met on Zoom to discuss how the 2-year-old daughter of a congressman and granddaughter of a US senator wound up with a broken collarbone. “The bruising surrounding the clavicle fracture made the injury suspicious,” wrote one of the detectives who summarized the Zoom meeting. Further, someone on the call “advised the injury would have required a high degree of impact to occur.” Neither the child’s father, Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), nor mother, conservative policy adviser Emily Moreno, admitted to knowing what caused their daughter’s injury or that it occurred while their daughter was under their care. Miller’s primary theory was that the bruising resembled marks from a seat belt. Moreno, who discovered the bruises and took the child to an emergency room, suggested the cause may have been something more sinister. Records of the investigation into potential child abuse show that Moreno told detectives that Miller had previously thrown hot water at her, shoved her, and held a gun to her head; therefore, she couldn’t rule out that Miller caused their daughter’s fracture. Moreover, a child protection specialist reviewing the incident had characterized the bruising near the fracture as resembling a “handprint.” “Daddy’s house is scary,” Moreno recounted her daughter saying, according to a Bay Village, Ohio, investigative report relating to the February 2026 injury. The summary of the Zoom meeting and investigative report are among more than 2,000 pages of court filings and police reports pertaining to Miller that Mother Jones obtained through public records requests. The trove of documents contains allegations of drug use by Miller, misogyny and verbal abuse, and violent behavior against multiple women. The filings also include evidence that Miller implicitly threatened his ex-father-in-law, Sen. Bernie Moreno. Some of the accusations contained in the records have not been conclusively proven by a court or law enforcement agency, and it’s possible they never will be. Cuyahoga County’s DCFS investigation into possible child abuse was “unsubstantiated”—that is, there was not enough evidence to support a finding of neglect or abuse. Additionally, Emily Moreno never filed a police report against Miller for harm she says he inflicted on her; she told a detective investigating the collarbone fracture that she feared “no one would believe her.” Still, the records pose troubling questions about the conduct of a sitting lawmaker, and his ongoing and increasingly bitter legal battle with his ex-wife may complicate his reelection bid. Throughout the legal filings, Moreno alleges that Miller was an absentee father and abusive husband whose history of violence and misconduct dates back more than a decade. Some of the accusations she raised are previously unreported, and Mother Jones has also identified new details about incidents that have already become public. Responding to written questions from Moreno’s lawyer about whether Miller threw a girl down the stairs in high school, faced expulsion from college for a violent incident involving a female student, and left Moreno within three days of their child’s birth, Miller—over the course of the domestic proceedings—neither confirmed nor denied the events took place. In domestic filings from May, Miller’s lawyer responded to these accusations: “Objection; relevance, scope of admissible evidence.” Through spokesperson Chris Vlasto, Miller declined to respond to any of the detailed questions Mother Jones sent to his lawyers. Vlasto pointed to statements made to other news outlets in which Miller and his representatives denied Miller had committed violence against women, though none of his previous interviews address some of the new issues raised by Mother Jones. For his part, Miller’s filings suggest he’s worried the accusations of domestic abuse and impropriety may harm his political campaign. According to a defamation lawsuit he filed against his ex-wife in May, Miller accuses Moreno of trying to “malign his character” and “undermine his odds at re-election to Congress.” In a motion for dismissal of the defamation case later that month, Moreno accused Miller of trying to “silence a woman who has information about his misdeeds.” “One of the more traumatic nights of my life” Miller, 37, represents Ohio’s 7th District, a long, skinny region of Northeast Ohio that spans from the shore of Lake Erie all the way down to Amish country in Holmes County. He was first elected to Congress in November 2022, after serving as a senior White House aide in the first Trump administration. Miller married Moreno just a few months before his election. The wedding took place at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where Donald Trump himself gave a celebratory speech. (Miller filed for divorce from Moreno exactly two years later, in August 2024.) It took just a few years for Miller to rise from a low-level political aide to nabbing an early Trump endorsement to take the seat of a Republican incumbent, Rep. Anthony Gonzalez. A cousin, Eli Miller, had helped Max Miller get a small role on then-Sen. Marco Rubio’s ill-fated presidential campaign. After Rubio dropped out of the crowded Republican field, the two cousins both joined the 2016 Trump campaign. At the time, his résumé was thin. After graduating from Cleveland State University three years earlier with a history degree, having briefly attended the University of Arizona beforehand, he joined the Marine Reserves. His previous work experience included a stint at Lululemon. But Trump quickly took a liking to the political neophyte. After the 2016 election, Miller served as director of Trump’s advance team, associate director of the Presidential Personnel Office, and eventually, deputy campaign manager for presidential operations. It was in the aftermath of the 2020 campaign cycle that Miller got his biggest opportunity yet. When Trump was looking to oust Gonzalez for backing his impeachment over the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, Miller was an easy pick to replace him. “Max, great guy, I can tell you,” Trump said while introducing him at a July 2021 political rally 40 miles south of Cleveland. “He’s a great guy.” Such was the headline of a 2021 profile of Miller that painted a picture of a young candidate with a troubled past. In the sprawling story published by Politico, journalist Michael Kruse interviewed more than 60 people and scoured court documents and police records from Miller’s adolescence and early 20s. In 2007, Miller was arrested for reportedly punching a guy in the back of the head and running from police. Still in high school at the time, Miller pleaded no contest to the charges; the case was dismissed and then sealed, both Politico and the Washington Post reported. A few years later, in 2010, Miller was cited for breaking a window at an apartment building in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, after getting into a “verbal altercation” with people he didn’t know at a hookah bar. “Miller said rather than striking a person, he hit the door and his hand went through the glass which cut his wrist,” says the police report obtained by Mother Jones. He required immediate surgery for his injury, the document says. In April 2011, he was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated after crashing into a light pole at Miami University of Ohio. Upon questioning, Miller reported to police that he had consumed “two to three beers and several shots” the night before and then “woke up in urine.” Records from Miami University police concluded that Miller’s blood alcohol content was under the legal limit, and he pleaded down to a misdemeanor for failing to control the car. “A blood test conclusively established that Mr. Miller was not impaired,” Miller’s attorney told Politico at the time. However, Mother Jones has obtained further toxicology reports from the incident stating that Miller had MDMA—also known as ecstasy—and Klonopin in his system at the time of the crash. That 2011 episode is the last time Miller is known to have been charged with a crime, not including some minor driving and parking violations. But the cache of records point to other allegations of violence and misconduct that were never reported to police. For instance, one of Moreno’s legal filings in their ongoing child custody case asked Miller to comment on the accusation that he pushed a female peer down a set of stairs during his high school years. “Why did you not pursue a defamation lawsuit against [redacted] for alleging you pushed her down a flight of stairs?” Miller’s response: “OBJECTION; relevance, scope of admissible evidence.” According to Politico’s 2021 report, “Miller pushed a girl out the door of his room and she fell down some stairs after he became enraged when she resisted his attempts to touch her, according to three people who were there and many more who heard about the incident in the aftermath.” Miller categorically denied to Politico that the altercation took place. But reached for comment this month, the woman in question told Mother Jones that while the event “happened 20 years ago,” it remains “one of the more traumatic nights of my life.” Moreno’s lawyers brought up the alleged incident in a set of interrogatories: formal, written questions used in the discovery phase of a lawsuit. The named parties in the case must answer truthfully, under penalty of perjury, though their counsel can advise them to object to the question rather than provide an answer. Objecting does not imply culpability. In his May filing, Miller denied some of the other allegations outright. For example: “Admit that from January 1, 2025 to present you have consumed/used illegal drugs.” Miller’s response: “DENY.” “Admit that you were escorted out of a Marriott on October 30, 2025 after the Annual Red Mass.” Miller’s response: “DENY.” Among the accusations Miller did not explicitly deny in the legal document, Moreno accused her ex-husband of making a misogynistic comment about her body and being expelled from college over violence against a woman. “Admit that you referred to the childbirth of your daughter as ‘setting your playground on fire.’” Miller’s response: “Objection, relevance, scope of admissible evidence.” “Why did you tell Defendant that you would not be present during the delivery of your minor child?” Miller’s response: “OBJECTION; relevance, scope of admissible evidence.” “Why did you leave Defendant and the minor child within seventy-two (72) hours of the minor child’s birth?” Miller’s response: “OBJECTION; relevance, scope of admissible evidence.” “Admit that you were expelled from college for an incident involving violence with a female student.” Miller’s response: “Objection, relevance, scope of admissible evidence.” In a quote from a June interview with the New York Post, Miller partially responded to the last claim. “That’s absolutely ridiculous. I can prove to you that I’ve never been expelled from any college,” Miller said. “The only reason why we didn’t answer the question is because we don’t have to answer any question before December 18 of 2025 in court.” Miller was referring to the admissible discovery period. In a May court filing, Miller claimed the judge stated from the bench that any admissible evidence should be from December 18, 2025, onward. Miller’s May filing also requested the judge to issue a formal ruling to clarify the cut-off date and stop Moreno from using discovery to “harass” Miller. “Plaintiff is currently campaigning for reelection,” Miller’s motion said. “Defendant is using this litigation to attempt to torpedo Plaintiff’s political career.” Still, nothing legally precluded Miller from denying allegations that would have taken place before December 2025 in the court filings, including the accusation of violence against a woman in college. In some cases, Miller both objected to the relevancy or admissibility of a claim and concurrently denied it. “Admit that you were physically and emotionally abusive to Defendant during your marriage.” Miller’s response: “Objection, relevance; otherwise, without waiving, DENY.” “Please state if you have ever been indicted of any crime.” Miller’s response: “OBJECTION; scope of admissible evidence. Without waiving any objection: never.” Before publishing this story, Mother Jones again emailed Miller’s lawyers and spokesperson to request the congressman directly address the following question: “As a college student, were you ever involved in a physical or violent altercation involving a female student?” Miller’s spokesperson replied, “We won’t be responding.” Nor did the spokesperson respond to questions about the toxicology report that Mother Jones obtained or about an apparent threat Miller made by text to his former father-in-law, Sen. Bernie Moreno, which is documented in court filings. “I’m sick of this, you know I never hurt our daughter. Take this however you want, everyone is going to get to know you better than your wife does,” Miller wrote to Bernie Moreno, according to an exhibit referenced in Emily Moreno’s motion for a restraining order. “Enjoy the ride brother, I wouldn’t have to do this if you could keep your lying daughter under control.” Bernie Moreno’s office acknowledged receiving questions from Mother Jones but did not provide comment. Through her lawyer, Emily Moreno declined to comment. In a separate filing from May, Miller was also accused of making misogynistic comments about Moreno’s attorney. He allegedly said the lawyer’s fiancée was “not much of a looker” and he could find lots of women like her “on a street corner for $10.” According to the filing, Miller also shouted at Moreno’s attorney, “Come at me!” “I’m just a fuck up and worthless” Moreno is not the only woman who has publicly accused Miller of violence. Stephanie Grisham, a White House press secretary from Trump’s first term, wrote in an October 2021 Washington Post excerpt of her book that Miller “got physical” with her when the two were dating in 2020. Politico was more specific in its July 2021 article, recounting—according to three people familiar with the incident—that Miller “pushed [Grisham] against a wall and slapped her in the face in his Washington apartment after she accused him of cheating on her.” It sounded similar to an event Moreno described to the Bay Village Police Department when DCFS was investigating their child’s broken collarbone, the police records show. “She went to pick up [redacted] at home and [redacted] grabbed [redacted] and threw her against the wall, which resulted in an obvious grab mark on her upper arm and bruising to her stomach and side where she hit the wall,” a detective wrote in summarizing what Moreno said. In May, the Daily Mail published photos of the alleged abuse against Moreno, which were later included in court filings. The pictures depicted a bruise on Moreno’s arm and red splotches on her chest that the outlet said were the result of two separate incidents: the one in which Miller allegedly pushed Moreno into a wall and another in which he allegedly threw hot water at her. (Records show Moreno referenced both of these accusations in her police interview about their child’s broken collarbone.) The Daily Mail also referenced a handwritten letter that Miller allegedly sent to Moreno after the water incident, which Moreno says took place in June 2024. “I don’t know what to do. I do know you love me, protect me, and care for me. I failed to do that for you,” Miller wrote, according to a picture of the letter in court filings. “It’s eating me alive. I love you even if you think I don’t. I love you so much. I’m so sorry. I’m just a fuck up and worthless.” Miller’s spokesperson, Vlasto, told the New York Post that the apology letter instead “relates to an argument between Congressman Miller and Emily Moreno’s father.” Miller sued both Moreno and Grisham for defamation. In an October 2021 case, he contended that Grisham’s book excerpt is “replete with libelous and defamatory false statements” about him, including that he was violent toward her. He subsequently withdrew the lawsuit in 2023 after the pair settled their case. About a week after the Daily Mail article, Miller also sued Moreno for defamation, alleging that she leaked information to the Daily Mail for the purpose of undermining his congressional campaign. (In court filings, Moreno denied speaking to the tabloid or urging anyone to do so on her behalf.) In trying to defend his character after the Daily Mail article was published, Miller uploaded to social media a voice recording of Moreno that he had taped in 2024. He wrote in an X post that the recording proves “everything alleged by Stephanie Grisham was fabricated” and that he’s “never done anything to harm” Moreno. This post landed Miller in another legal battle. In a lawsuit Grisham filed last week related to their 2021 case, Grisham says Miller broke the private terms of their settlement by disparaging her in public with his X post. Moreover, she says Miller’s summary of his own video recording is not accurate. In the 43-second clip, Moreno says “what Stephanie did to you is wrong.” Moreno does not say in the recording that Grisham lied about being abused. “At no point in the recording does Moreno claim or admit that ‘everything alleged by Stephanie Grisham was fabricated,’” Grisham’s July 7 lawsuit says. Responding to the Daily Mail story, Miller also shared a separate voice recording of Moreno with the New York Post; a subsequent legal filing contained a transcript of the recording. According to the transcript, Moreno is heard saying, “You poured steaming hot water on me, and you’ve also, you, uh, you have been insanely emotionally abusive.” Miller first said he “didn’t pour hot water on [her] neck.” He then said, “The water incident…I never thought that that hurt you.” “It was never done to hurt you with intent. It never was done to hurt you, and you know that,” Miller explained. Here, too, Miller may have inadvertently shot himself in the foot. In response to Miller’s defamation case, Moreno’s lawyer claims that Miller’s audio is effectively an admission that he threw hot water at Moreno. “It is true or substantially true that Congressman Miller soaked her with hot water. Miller admits it in his own audio recording,” reads the supplemental filing. For now, the defamation-related cases involving Grisham and Moreno are ongoing. As is Miller’s bid for reelection—though a recent poll shows he leads Democratic challenger Brian Poindexter by just 1 percent. A few weeks ago, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report also downgraded Miller’s race from “Solid Republican” to “Likely Republican.”