Max Miller's ex-wife sues over explicit photo of daughter

Emily Moreno, the ex-wife of Representative Max Miller, files a federal civil rights lawsuit against Miller and his attorney, Aaron Minc, after a nude photo of their two-year-old daughter is published online. The photo, meant to document a bruise, was released in an unredacted Dropbox folder intended to defend Miller against domestic abuse allegations. Despite investigations by the House Ethics Committee and pressure to withdraw from his Ohio re-election campaign, Miller refuses to step down, adopting a strategy of defiance modeled after Donald Trump.

Explicit photo lawsuit filed

• ▪The lawsuit states the explicit photograph of Representative Max Miller's daughter remained publicly accessible online via a Dropbox link for approximately 23 hours before removal
• ▪Emily Moreno, the ex-wife of Representative Max Miller, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on August 12, 2026, against Miller and his attorney, Aaron Minc
• ▪Emily Moreno is seeking $150,000 in statutory damages on behalf of her daughter for emotional distress and reputational harm caused by the photograph's public release
• ▪The lawsuit filed by Emily Moreno alleges that Representative Max Miller and his attorney Aaron Minc recklessly published a nude, explicit photograph of Miller's two-year-old daughter online

Abuse allegations against Miller

• ▪Representative Max Miller released a public Dropbox folder of text messages, emails, and recorded conversations to defend himself against child abuse and domestic violence allegations
• ▪Representative Max Miller has been accused of physical abuse by three different women, according to reports
• ▪Emily Moreno has accused Representative Max Miller of being an abusive husband and father, alleging he held a gun to her head and injured their daughter
• ▪The photograph in the lawsuit was taken by Emily Moreno to document a yellow bruise on her daughter's shoulder, who was later diagnosed with a broken collarbone

House Ethics Committee investigation

• ▪The House Ethics Committee is investigating allegations that Representative Max Miller abused his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, and their daughter
• ▪The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation in November 2025 into Representative Cory Mills over allegations of sexual misconduct, violence, and campaign finance violations

Miller refuses campaign withdrawal

• ▪Representative Max Miller, who is running for re-election in Ohio's 7th congressional district, has refused to withdraw from the race despite pressure from Republican officials
• ▪Representative Max Miller missed the deadline to drop out of his re-election campaign, despite pressure from Senator Bernie Moreno and other Republicans

Trump scandal survival strategy

• ▪Representative Max Miller told Donald Trump during a phone call that he would remain in his congressional race, citing Trump's own resilience against 2016 allegations
• ▪Republican politicians including Eric Greitens, Cory Mills, George Santos, Matt Gaetz, and Duncan Hunter have previously invoked Donald Trump's "witch hunt" framing to fight their own scandals
• ▪Donald Trump declined to publicly call for Representative Max Miller's withdrawal from his congressional race, stating to a reporter that he was "not going to get involved."

Attorney negligence in redaction

• ▪Attorney Aaron Minc apologized for the error, stating he was solely responsible for assembling, reviewing, and modifying the documents in the released folder
• ▪Attorney Aaron Minc admitted in an email that he failed to ensure the files in the public Dropbox folder were properly redacted before publication