Representative Max Miller of Ohio has abandoned the domestic violence case he filed against his ex-wife, and the judge’s reasoning is far more damaging to him than anything he had accused her of doing.
A Cuyahoga County judge formally dismissed the case against Emily Moreno, the daughter of Senator Bernie Moreno, on Wednesday after Miller moved to drop it back in May.
Domestic Relations Court Judge Debra Boros found that Miller had not been harmed and had shown no sign of fearing his former wife. The ruling noted that Miller was under no apparent infirmity and did not appear threatened, according to the court document obtained by reporters.
Miller had told the court that doorbell camera footage from a February 2025 custody exchange backed up his account of events. His own legal team later informed Moreno’s attorneys that the footage does not exist.
The allegations against Miller
Moreno’s accusations describe a pattern of violence. She says Miller threw hot water from a skillet onto her chest and stomach, causing scalding burns. She says he held a gun to her head. She says he pushed her into a wall. She says their two year old daughter suffered a fractured collarbone. Miller has denied every allegation.
At a July 28 hearing, Miller’s own attorney, Larry Zuckerman, acknowledged that his client “just can’t control himself,” according to an affidavit Moreno filed Wednesday.
That same day, Moreno filed for a restraining order to keep Miller away from her legal team after he physically touched her lawyer Andrew Zashin without consent. In her affidavit, Moreno wrote that she stepped in and told Miller to get his hands off him.
Calls for resignation
The renewed attention has produced a wave of condemnation. The gun violence prevention organization founded by former Representative Gabrielle Giffords demanded Miller’s resignation Wednesday, with executive director Emma Brown saying that Congress is no place for violent abusers and that the House should expel him if he refuses to step down.
The Democratic Women’s Caucus called the reports deeply disturbing and asked the House Ethics Committee to open an investigation, in a joint statement from Chair Teresa Leger Fernández of New Mexico and Vice Chairs Emilia Sykes of Ohio and Hillary Scholten of Michigan.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, speaking at the Ohio State Fair, called the accusations troubling but said the decision belongs to voters. Representative Shontel Brown of Ohio pointed out that members of her own party have resigned over far less.
A pattern that predates the marriage
Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham has also accused Miller of physically abusing her during their relationship in 2019 and 2020. Miller sued her for defamation, then dropped the suit and settled on terms requiring both parties to sign a nondisclosure agreement barring them from discussing the matter publicly.
Grisham is now suing Miller, arguing that he violated that agreement when he publicly denied her accusations.
Trump endorsed him anyway
President Trump gave Miller his “Complete and Total Endorsement” earlier this year, with the abuse allegations already public and already hanging over the congressman. Trump’s own political operation is reportedly alarmed in private about the seat, viewing Miller’s collapse as entirely self inflicted.
That alarm is showing up in the numbers. Democratic challenger Brian Poindexter, a union ironworker, led Miller by 17 points among independent voters in a June 2026 survey conducted by the Democratic firm GBAO. Trump carried the district by 11 points in 2024.
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