NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A bitter family feud has spilled into Congress after Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, called on his former son-in-law, Rep. Max Miller, to resign, accusing the fellow Ohio Republican of abusive behavior and saying he poses a danger to Moreno’s daughter and granddaughter.
Moreno’s extraordinary statement on X Sunday marked the latest escalation in a years-long family clash that has spilled from a contentious divorce into national Republican politics. Miller, a Republican congressman endorsed by President Donald Trump, was married to Moreno’s daughter, Emily.
Their divorce and ongoing custody battle have increasingly played out in public, culminating Sunday with Moreno’s call for Miller to leave Congress just days before Ohio’s Aug. 5 deadline to replace congressional candidates on the ballot.
FOX NEWS POLL: DEMOCRATIC UNITY, REPUBLICAN CROSSOVERS SHAPE OHIO SENATE RACE
On Sunday, hours after Miller publicly denied allegations stemming from the divorce, Moreno broke his public silence in a lengthy statement posted to X, saying his family had endured “pure hell” over the past two years and accusing Miller of increasingly “erratic and dangerous behavior.”
“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.
Moreno went on to call Miller unfit for office, writing: “If there are any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them. He should not serve in the House of Representatives.”
The Ohio senator also alleged that Miller “needs serious psychological help” and wrote that he fears for the safety of his granddaughter while she is in Miller’s custody. Miller has denied the allegations and has not been charged with any crime related to the dispute.
Sunday’s post marked a dramatic shift for Moreno, who had previously avoided publicly commenting on Miller or the family’s legal dispute. The statement came just days before Ohio’s Aug. 5 deadline to replace a congressional candidate on the ballot.
Still, Moreno has been criticized online for not speaking up about the situation sooner. When asked by Notus last week, Moreno said he didn’t “know” if Miller should stay in office.
A source close to the Moreno family told Fox News Digital that the senator had wanted to break his silence for months, and has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses as the legal battle between his daughter and Miller continues on.
But his daughter, the source said, didn’t want the lawmaker’s granddaughter to “eventually read about her grandfather attacking her dad.”
That changed after Miller’s livestream, which the source characterized as an “unhinged meltdown.”
SEN BERNIE MORENO CALLS FOR EX-SON-IN-LAW TO RESIGN FROM HOUSE, GET ‘SERIOUS PSYCHOLOGICAL HELP’
Earlier Sunday, Miller posted a livestream denying allegations of domestic and child abuse related to the divorce.
During the livestream, Miller also alleged that his ex-wife has struggled with mental health issues and shared a Dropbox link containing court filings and other documents that he said support his version of events.
“Just want to be clear: no court, no agency has ever substantiated any allegation of abuse against me. No criminal charge has ever been filed against me,” Miller said. “Every single one of these allegations were already investigated, and I cooperated fully every single time because I had nothing to hide and I have nothing to hide now.”
GOP REP. MAX MILLER PUSHES BACK AGAINST ABUSE ALLEGATIONS: ‘I HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE’
Days before Sunday’s public clash, Emily Moreno’s attorneys sought restraining orders against Miller that would prohibit him from contacting or harassing members of her legal team.
Emily Moreno’s spokesman, Stefan Mychajliw, accused Miller of trying to “save his political career” and rejected the congressman’s characterization of the dispute.
“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,” Mychajliw said in a statement.
“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,” Mychajliw continued. “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.”
Asked about the senator’s public comments, Emily Moreno’s attorney, Subodh Chandra, declined to engage with the allegations. “When adverse parties in litigation are setting themselves on fire, I do not provide them with a fire extinguisher,” he told Fox News Digital.
With neither side backing down, the bitter family feud appears far from over, setting the stage for more courtroom battles and political fallout in the weeks ahead.
Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Miller and Moreno for additional comment.
Read the full article here
