Emily Moreno, the ex-wife of Republican congressman Max Miller, has filed a lawsuit against him and his lawyer, Aaron Minc, for uploading a picture of their infant daughter to a publicly accessible Dropbox folder as part of their custody dispute. The complaint, filed in the US district court for the northern district of Ohio, alleges that Miller “recklessly published and disclosed to the world a nude image” of their daughter.
Lawsuit details and allegations
The photo was part of a larger set of evidence that Miller’s team compiled in response to domestic abuse allegations Moreno made following their divorce. Those allegations include Miller holding a gun to Moreno’s head, pouring boiling water on her, and actions that resulted in their two-year-old daughter’s collarbone being broken. Miller has denied all these claims.
According to the lawsuit, Miller “so desperately wanted to salvage his political job” that he “recklessly and intentionally” provided his lawyer with “a trove of documents and photos, indifferent about what they contained or how they were used.” Miller then shared the link to the files online after going live on social media on 2 August to deny the allegations against him. Moreno’s lawyers note that “more than 400,000 people saw or interacted with” Miller’s posts containing the Dropbox folder.
Political fallout and response
Miller, who is seeking re-election in Ohio, has faced calls to resign from members of his own party and his father-in-law, Bernie Moreno, a Republican senator. However, Donald Trump has remained largely supportive of the congressman, and reports indicate the White House squashed efforts to replace him on the ballot for November’s midterm election.
At the time of the initial release, Minc accepted sole responsibility for inadvertently releasing the unredacted image of Moreno and Miller’s daughter in the files. The Guardian has approached both Miller and Minc for their response to the latest lawsuit.
Legal demands and political implications
The lawsuit demands the court award $150,000 in damages for “every time someone accessed, transferred, distributed, published, or downloaded the image” of their daughter. Brian Poindexter, the Democrat running against Miller in November, has intensified attacks on his opponent. “No one credibly accused of holding a gun to his wife’s head and breaking their two-year-old daughter’s collarbone belongs in the halls of power,” he said recently on X.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has also added Poindexter to its “Red to Blue” program, which targets districts the party believes can be flipped from Republican to Democratic control. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org.
