The daughter of U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno asked a Cuyahoga County judge on Thursday to stop her ex-husband, U.S. Rep. Max Miller, from contacting her lawyers directly, swearing in an affidavit that the congressman has harassed and threatened her legal team and physically touched one of her attorneys without consent.
Miller has denied every allegation of abuse his ex-wife has raised over the past year. He has never been charged with a crime in connection with any of them. And earlier this week, his own domestic violence petition against Emily Moreno was dismissed after a judge found he had not been harmed or made to fear for his safety.
The affidavit, signed by Emily Moreno and notarized Thursday, was filed as Exhibit A to a motion in the couple’s long-running domestic relations case in Cuyahoga County. It is a request for court-ordered restraint on contact with counsel — not a domestic violence protection order, and not the first restraining order to surface in the case.
What the affidavit alleges
In six numbered paragraphs, Moreno swears that Miller “has harassed, threatened, and communicated directly” with her current counsel at Zashin Law LLC as well as with two previous attorneys, Vince Stafford and Jill Helfman.
She further swears that Miller “physically touched my counsel without consent,” and describes her own response after he allegedly placed his hands on attorney Andrew Zashin: “Get your hands off of him.”
The affidavit does not state when that contact is alleged to have occurred.
Moreno also attributes a statement to Miller’s own attorney. She swears that at a July 28 hearing, Miller’s counsel said the congressman “just can’t control himself.”
“Unless restrained,” the affidavit concludes, “Plaintiff will continue to harass, threaten, and communicate with my counsel directly.”
The allegations are Moreno’s sworn account and have not been tested in court. Miller is the plaintiff in the domestic relations case, having filed for divorce in August 2024.
Friction with Zashin is not new
Zashin has been a recurring target. Miller named him and his firm as defendants in the defamation lawsuit he filed in May, and Miller’s legal team separately moved to disqualify Zashin from the custody case, arguing that his status as a co-defendant created a conflict. In May, the New York Post reported that Miller had attempted to goad Zashin into a physical confrontation after a court hearing.
A mutual restraining order has been in place since June 1, barring both Miller and Moreno from threatening, abusing, annoying or interfering with each other. Moreno’s team filed a contempt motion days later, arguing Miller violated that order by giving media interviews hours after the judge issued it. Miller’s lawyers denied any violation, saying he has the right to defend himself publicly.
Miller’s own case collapsed this week
Miller filed a domestic violence petition against Moreno on Feb. 27, seeking an order that she stay away from him and their 2-year-old daughter. It was formally dismissed this week after a judge concluded he had not been harmed or placed in fear for his safety.
During those proceedings, Miller testified that doorbell camera footage would corroborate his account that his girlfriend was present during a Feb. 1 custody exchange. His attorneys later informed Moreno’s lawyers that she had not, in fact, likely been there. Miller has said he made an honest mistake and was confused about timing.
The underlying allegations
Moreno has alleged in sworn filings and in a police interview that Miller scalded her with hot water from a pan in June 2024 after she told him she planned to leave the marriage, held a gun to her head, and pushed her against a wall. She has also raised questions about a broken collarbone their daughter sustained in February.
Miller has rejected all of it. In a June interview with Spectrum News, he said he never did any of those things. His office has produced county documentation showing that child abuse allegations involving his daughter were investigated and deemed unsubstantiated. He has called his ex-wife mentally ill, a liar and a stalker; her attorney has said she has no bipolar diagnosis and does not own the handgun Miller claims she has.
Miller sued Moreno and Zashin for defamation in May. She has moved to dismiss that suit under Ohio’s anti-SLAPP statute, arguing that allegations against a sitting congressman on the ballot are protected speech on a matter of public concern.
A ballot deadline is five days out
The timing matters. According to reporting by The New York Times, Republicans have until Aug. 5 to replace a candidate on the ballot, and Democrats say their internal polling shows Miller just 1 point ahead of Democratic challenger Brian Poindexter, a union ironworker, in a district President Donald Trump carried by 11 points in 2024.
The Cook Political Report moved Ohio’s 7th District from Solid Republican to Likely Republican on June 18. Miller campaign spokesperson Abigail Angelos told the Times that the court has continued to permit Miller joint custody, and said he would keep defending his reputation against what she called false and reckless allegations.
Ohio’s senior senator stays quiet
Bernie Moreno represents every county in Ohio, including Seneca and Sandusky, until January 2031. He has not called on Miller to resign, has not asked him to leave the race, and has not publicly weighed in on his own daughter’s sworn account.
Asked about the case, his spokesperson, Reagan McCarthy, told the Times that “Senator Moreno’s top priority is the safety and well-being of his daughter and granddaughter.” She added: “While he will not litigate these matters in the media or respond to baseless public attacks, he will do whatever it takes to ensure a just outcome for his family.”
That silence has begun drawing criticism from inside Ohio. This week, state Sen. Casey Weinstein, a Hudson Democrat, contrasted Moreno’s profanity-laced confrontation with Dr. Anthony Fauci at a Senate hearing against months of public quiet on Miller. House Speaker Mike Johnson, asked July 21 why Republicans have kept Miller in their conference, said: “The key word there is allegation.”
No prominent Ohio Republican has called for Miller to step aside.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788. Help is available 24/7.
