Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, made a series of explosive claims during a Tuesday night interview on Newsmax, alleging that his former father-in-law, Sen. Bernie Moreno, once offered his own daughter $5 million to leave the family because of what Miller described as ongoing turmoil.
The embattled congressman made the allegations while discussing his former wife, Emily Moreno, prompting Newsmax host Rob Finnerty to interrupt the interview several times to seek clarification on Miller’s remarks.
Shortly after the interview aired, a source close to Sen. Moreno rejected Miller’s account. According to Semafor reporter Burgess Everett, the source described the allegation as “totally false” and said Miller had “totally made up” the story.
During the interview, Miller also alleged that his former wife had bipolar disorder and claimed she had previously been committed to a mental institution.
While recounting what he described as private conversations with Sen. Moreno, Miller initially said, “In his own words, he told me that I could leave his daughter if I wanted to and he offered her $5 million to go away.”
The wording prompted Finnerty to stop the interview and ask whether Miller meant that Moreno had offered his daughter money to leave Miller.
“No, no, no,” Miller replied. “Bernie Moreno offered his daughter $5 million to leave him and the family.”
Finnerty again pressed Miller to explain the allegation.
According to Miller, several years earlier Emily Moreno had become such a source of conflict within the family that Sen. Moreno allegedly made the offer after an argument in which, Miller claimed, Emily Moreno dislocated her father’s finger. Miller said both Emily Moreno and her siblings had told him about the incident.
Finnerty then asked whether Miller had any evidence to support the allegation.
“Besides me being there as a witness within the family when we had good times, yeah, I was there, and I can affirm that to be true,” Miller responded.
Newsmax later noted in an article about the interview that an attorney representing Emily Moreno denied Miller’s allegation that she has bipolar disorder. The outlet also reported that Miller did not provide documented proof supporting his claim that Sen. Moreno offered his daughter $5 million to leave the family.
The interview came amid escalating public accusations involving Miller and his former wife. Emily Moreno has alleged that the Ohio congressman pointed a gun at her head, assaulted her with scalding water, and fractured their 2-year-old daughter’s collarbone. Miller has denied those allegations.
The controversy has expanded beyond the claims made by his ex-wife. According to Mediaite’s Michael Luciano, former Trump White House communications director and press secretary Stephanie Grisham, who dated Miller in 2019 and 2020, has also accused the congressman of abuse. In addition, a third woman alleged that while she and Miller were in high school, he pushed a girl from his room, causing her to fall down a flight of stairs.
Axios reported Monday that President Donald Trump personally called Miller and told the congressman that “things aren’t looking good.”
Sen. Moreno has publicly called on Miller to resign from Congress, a position that has also been taken by several other Republican senators.
Miller has denied the abuse allegations against him.
His appearance on Newsmax came after a Tuesday interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper that drew widespread attention. According to CNN reporter Sarah Ferris, one Republican operative reacted to the interview by asking, “I mean what the absolute f*ck was that?”
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