Lawyer for GOP Rep. Max Miller’s ex-wife files for restraining order as abuse allegations against congressman swirl

Attorney for Max Miller’s Former Spouse Seeks Court Order Amid Ongoing Abuse Claims

New Restraining Order Request Targets Congressman’s Contact with Legal Counsel

Wertynews.com – Emily Moreno, the former wife of Republican Representative Max Miller, submitted a court petition on Thursday requesting that the two-term Ohio lawmaker be prohibited from reaching out to her attorney. This legal action arrives as accusations of physical mistreatment—claims that Miller has firmly rejected—continue to complicate his competitive bid for re-election.

During a Sunday announcement, the congressman vowed to remain in the contest while strongly refuting the mounting accusations directed at him.

“I’m not getting out of this race, and I’m winning in November,” Miller said.

According to official court documents, Moreno contends that Miller has engaged in multiple physical and verbal confrontations with her legal representative, Andrew Zashin, following recent hearings connected to their ongoing custody dispute. The couple currently holds mutual restraining orders issued by the court. Their union, which commenced in 2022 and concluded in June 2025, produced a young daughter together.

Moreno’s affidavit outlines specific incidents, including an allegation that Miller insulted Zashin’s fiancée before witnesses at an Ohio courthouse following a May hearing. She further claims that after a hearing held earlier this week, the congressman physically seized Zashin alongside another attorney.

“Unless restrained,” Moreno wrote in an affidavit, “Miller ‘will continue to harass, threaten, and communicate with my counsel directly.'”

Additionally, Moreno stated that Miller has similarly harassed, threatened, and made direct communications with her previous legal teams.

Timeline of Alleged Incidents

Court records and police documentation reveal a series of alleged events spanning several months. On February 1, Moreno claimed that Miller physically attacked her during a custody exchange at his Bay Village, Ohio, residence while their daughter was present.

A police report alleges that Moreno went to collect the child at Miller’s home, where he supposedly “threw” her “against the wall,” causing “an obvious grab mark on her upper arm and bruising to her stomach and side where she hit the wall.”

The responding officer documented conversations with a county child protection specialist regarding a separate incident occurring two weeks later, which led to the young child receiving a diagnosis of a mid-right clavicle fracture. The officer noted that a bruise accompanying the injury “appears to be a handprint and appears to have been inflicted.”

Moreno also informed police that after remaining with Miller, the child made a statement to her: “Daddy kill you,” according to the police report. When Moreno emailed Miller regarding this comment, he denied that the child “would have heard anything like that from him,” the police report added.

The police documentation further mentions another domestic occurrence in March 2025 between the couple, as well as a prior incident where Miller “previously held a gun to her head,” a police officer wrote after the February 1 report.

Hot Water Incident and Defamation Lawsuit

Based on the February 1 report and additional court filings from Moreno’s legal team in their defamation case, Miller allegedly “threw onto Ms. Moreno hot water from a pan of eggs he’d just cooked” in 2024 after she informed the congressman of her intention to end their relationship.

Following media coverage of this event, Miller initiated a defamation lawsuit against Moreno, citing “considerable reputational and financial harm” stemming from her claims that he was a “violent and abusive husband and father.” On Sunday, Miller stated that the incident took place while they were still married and characterized it as “horseplay.” He asserted that he utilized the sprayer attached to the kitchen sink, which he claimed did not reach scalding temperatures, to spray water at Moreno.

Later, Miller told an Ohio magistrate judge that his current girlfriend was present at the house during the first alleged February incident, though an attorney representing Miller subsequently withdrew this statement.

Miller’s Defense and Campaign Context

Miller, who represents a Republican-leaning district in the Cleveland area and is seeking a third term, has consistently rejected all accusations leveled against him. He emphasizes that he maintains joint custody of his daughter and has accused his former wife of both defamation and mistreating their child herself.

In a Sunday livestream on X, Miller addressed the recent accusations, denying that he abused either his daughter or his ex-wife. He questioned the timing of the allegations, proposing that they were intended to influence the custody proceedings, while maintaining that his ex-wife has demonstrated a pattern of making “serious and destructive allegations with absolutely no evidence.”

Moreno is the daughter of Republican Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno. The Thursday legal proceedings represent the most recent developments in months of court documents and public reports examined by CBS News that outline allegations of abuse by Miller against his ex-wife and their child.