A political firestorm erupted inside the Republican Party this week when Sen. Bernie Moreno turned against Rep. Max Miller, his own son-in-law’s political ally within the GOP, breaking a long silence over allegations that Miller abused Moreno’s daughter, Emily.
For months, Moreno kept his family’s private ordeal out of public view. That changed after Miller took to a livestream, denying wrongdoing and claiming Emily suffers from bipolar disorder — an assertion she disputes.
Moreno’s response left little room for interpretation. He stated flatly that Miller should be removed from his House seat and urged him to get psychological treatment.
“Out of concern for the safety of my family, I hoped to keep this matter private, but Max Miller’s increasingly erratic and dangerous behavior has made that impossible,” Moreno wrote on X.
He went further, revealing details he had previously withheld.
“As he has admitted privately, Max Miller needs serious psychological help,” Moreno wrote. “He is a danger to my daughter, and I hold my breath every minute he has custody of my granddaughter. If there are any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them.”
The timing raised eyebrows. Just days before his public statement, Moreno told the outlet NOTUS that he “doesn’t know” whether Miller should seek reelection — a far cry from the condemnation that followed.
Miller’s district carries real political weight. His seat covers Cleveland’s suburbs, territory President Trump won by 11 points in 2024, yet a Democratic-funded poll from June found Miller ahead of challenger Brian Poindexter by a single point.
This is not the first time Miller has faced abuse allegations. Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham previously accused him of similar conduct, and Miller was arrested on a drunk driving charge while in college.
Moreno did not soften his position. “He should not serve in the House of Representatives,” he said.
“I believe Max Miller needs to seek professional help to end the clear pattern of abuse he has left in his wake. I believe he should not be free to continue endangering others until he does.”
The marriage at the center of the dispute began at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in 2022. It ended two years later almost to the day, when Miller filed for divorce in August 2024 on their anniversary.
Emily’s allegations against Miller are severe. She claims he shoved her, held a gun to her head, and poured scalding water on her body that left burn marks. She has also raised the possibility that he abused their young daughter.
Speaking on Emily’s behalf, spokesperson Stefan Mychajiw slammed Miller’s public denial.
“It is shameful that Max Miller decided to go on a bizarre and lie-filled rant about his ex-wife to desperately try to save his political career,” Mychajiw said. “There is a documented trove of evidence that Miller has a history of violent and dangerous behavior and no amount of victim shaming will change that.”
Mychajiw’s statement did not stop there.
He accused Miller of exploiting the couple’s daughter for political gain, saying, “It is despicable and abhorrent that Miller lied on an unhinged and humiliating video for their daughter to watch one day. No loving parent would have ever used their daughter as a PR pawn to save their own political career. Miller can lie and spin on X, but he cannot do so under oath in a court of law. We are confident that justice will prevail in court.”
Emily herself has largely stayed out of the public eye, letting police reports and sworn court testimony speak for her.
One piece of evidence includes secretly recorded audio in which Miller can be heard acknowledging that he burned her with hot water, even as he denies doing it on purpose.
In that recording, made in August 2024, Emily confronted him directly: “You poured steaming hot water on me, and you’ve also been … emotionally abusive, and I have photos of me that my mom took at my house with me with scars on my neck, and you’ve actually seen those photos.”
Additional evidence submitted in court includes photographs of red marks covering Emily’s body, along with a handwritten apology from Miller.
In it, he wrote, “I’m sorry I failed you and [our daughter],” and described himself as “just a f— up and worthless.” Miller insists the note had nothing to do with the hot water incident.
A separate and unresolved question involves the couple’s 2-year-old daughter’s broken collarbone.
Miller denies any involvement. According to a police report, Emily took the child for an X-ray in February that revealed the fracture as well as “what appeared to be a handprint bruise” on her shoulder.
Miller used his livestream to challenge each accusation individually.
“I’ve been portrayed as an abusive husband, an abusive father, and a violent man,” he said. “Let me begin with the most painful accusation of all — I have never abused our daughter.”
He walked through the claims point by point, citing evidence he had shared previously with The Post, and repeated his assertions about Emily’s mental health.
Miller has escalated his legal response by suing Emily for defamation.
Last month, a judge threw out his domestic violence case against her, while a separate June order barred both Miller and Emily from disparaging each other around their daughter or using electronic devices to harass one another.
Whether Miller’s Sunday broadcast violated that order has not been determined. Emily’s attorney has since sought a restraining order against Miller for allegedly attempting to provoke a fight.
Critics had already been questioning Moreno’s silence, noting he had no trouble publicly clashing with Dr. Anthony Fauci during a Senate hearing just last week.
Moreno addressed that criticism head-on in his statement.
“As a father and husband, I can tell you the last two years have been pure hell for my wife Bridget, our daughter Emily, me, and our entire family in the aftermath of Emily’s divorce,” he said. “It has been horrific to watch this play out in full public view, all while knowing an innocent two-year-old girl is caught in the middle. Our priority has always been protecting our daughter and our granddaughter.”
Miller was quick to fire back at his accuser.
He posted on X that Moreno knows “this isn’t true and the only reason you are speaking out now is to hide from your own media circus. This is all political.” He added a pointed jab of his own: “If my daughter said the same thing to me, I personally wouldn’t wait two years before holding him accountable.”
