WASHINGTON — Embattled Rep. Max Miller’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno, presented in court an apology letter she claims Miller wrote on the day he allegedly tossed hot water on her nearly two years ago.
The all-caps handwritten note is the latest development in the nasty custody and defamation battle between a prominent GOP congressman and the daughter of an Ohio senator that has spilled into the open before the November election.
The revelation came in a civil lawsuit Miller (R-Ohio) brought against Moreno and her attorney in the custody fight, Andrew Zashlin, accusing them of defaming him by portraying him as an abuser.
Much of the coverage of the abuse accusations had stemmed from the ones Moreno’s team made in court, but the Daily Mail published a bombshell piece with photos of her following a June 8, 2024, incident where she supposedly told him she planned to cut things off.
The congressman was cooking eggs at the time and allegedly tossed hot water on her after receiving that news, according to a motion her team filed Wednesday to counter his defamation suit.
Her motion included photos of the aftermath of the alleged incident, including bruises and red marks she sustained, and a handwritten apology note from him. Miller denied the claims and countered that her skin wasn’t scalding as badly as it would’ve been if he threw boiling water at her as described by the Daily Mail.
“I do know you love me, protect me, and care for me. I failed to do that for you,” the blue-inked letter said. “I’m sorry I failed you and [our daughter]. It’s eating me alive. I love you, even if you think I don’t. I love you so much. I’m so sorry.
“I’m just a f— up and worthless.”
That letter had been reported by the Daily Mail but not shown. Critically, Miller’s legal team had seemingly cast doubt on it in the defamation filing, stressing that “no evidence in the form of an apology letter authored or signed by Plaintiff has ever been introduced.”
“That letter relates to an argument between Congressman Miller and Emily Moreno’s father, after which Ms. Moreno chose to leave the home. It had nothing to do with this fake incident she is now alleging,” Miller’s spokesperson Chris Vlasto told The Post.
“Attempting to recast a family disagreement as something far more sinister is a complete distortion of the truth.”
Emily’s father is Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio). Court documents indicate that Miller and the senator had a very acrimonious relationship.
Her team’s motion for expedited relief cited Ohio’s anti-SLAPP law, which gives protection from frivolous lawsuits that are filed with the intent to intimidate.
Miller, an alum of the first Trump administration, tapped the president’s defamation pitbull attorney, Alejandro Brito, to spearhead the case. Brito has led President Trump’s cases against the BBC, ABC, IRS, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and more.
Keeping quiet during the Thursday hearing
On Thursday, during a planned hearing, Miller declined to take the stand to explain why he voluntarily moved to dismiss the case and separately opted against doing so to defend his motion to disqualify Emily’s lawyer.
Miller’s team had cited the fact that both Emily and Zashin are co-defendants in his defamation suit against them as a reason to disqualify the seasoned family attorney, whom Cleveland Magazine once named “The Divorcing Woman’s Best Friend” in the early 2000s.
“The legal actions Max Miller has taken against his ex-wife are without merit, and he voluntarily dismissed his petition for a Civil Protection Order against her just days before it was set to be heard,” Zashin said in a statement.
“Instead, he has sued her, me, and my law firm in an improper and unconstitutional attempt to silence us. Mr. Miller is also attempting – again – to disqualify me and my law firm from representing his ex-wife, yet he refused to proceed with a hearing on the motion today, although he requested an expedited hearing.”
Earlier this week, Miller moved to dismiss the separate domestic violence case he brought against Emily, which was widely seen as an attempt to take the daughter away from her as their custody fight plays out.
In the separate domestic violence case that he has dismissed, Miller sought a Civil Protection Order.
