GOP lawmaker sues ex-wife who accused him of throwing boiling water on her

A Republican congressman facing domestic violence allegations from his ex-wife has decided his best move is to sue her.

Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday in Cuyahoga County against Emily Moreno — the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) — along with her legal team, claiming they made "false, malicious, and defamatory statements wrongly accusing him of being a violent and abusive husband and father."

The lawsuit comes weeks after the Daily Mail published photographs of what appeared to be injuries Emily Moreno sustained from alleged abuse, including an accusation that Miller threw boiling water at her in front of their child. Miller called those reports "nothing but lies" and accused his former father-in-law of bankrolling "his daughter's malicious campaign to ruin my life."

Emily Moreno's spokesperson, Stefan Mychajliw, wasn't having it. "Mr. Miller is upset because he's tried to silence Emily Moreno the same way he silenced Stephanie Grisham — and Emily won't let him," he said in a statement, referring to the former White House press secretary who separately accused Miller of slapping her.

Mychajliw went further, alleging his client possesses "a letter in Miller's own handwriting calling himself 'worthless' with guilt 'eating me alive'" over the alleged assault — and accused Miller of running "the same playbook against a woman with photographs of her bruises and burns."

Miller sued Grisham in 2021 on similar grounds, then quietly dropped the case in 2023.

The congressman, who is seeking at least $25,000 in damages, claims the abuse allegations cost him "lost business opportunities" and "reduced campaign contributions." He insists the whole affair stems from his ex-wife's mental health struggles — a claim her camp flatly rejects.