Rep. Max Miller’s attorney apologizes for releasing ‘sensitive’ image of child in documents shared by congressman

By Michael Williams, Lauren Fox, CNN

(CNN) — As Republican Rep. Max Miller is facing pressure, including from his former father-in-law, Sen. Bernie Moreno, to drop his reelection bid over abuse allegations, the Ohio congressman’s attorney has apologized for releasing a “sensitive” image of his child in documents shared by the congressman.

Just before he posted a link on social media Sunday to hundreds of messages, videos and images involving his ex-wife, the Ohio congressman said one of his primary motivations for airing out his divorce and child custody disputes was to safeguard their young child.

“This isn’t about defending myself,” Miller said. “I’m speaking up as a father, trying to protect our daughter.”

But contained in the Dropbox folder that Miller shared with his nearly 60,000 followers on X were sensitive and unredacted details of his own family, including one image that depicted his toddler daughter nude. The photo was taken in the context of an inquiry into an injury the 2-year-old had suffered.

Miller released the materials as he sought to defend against his ex-wife’s claims of domestic abuse. “I’m going to use my platform to share the facts in this very genuine way,” he said in the livestream.

The inclusion of the image, which was publicly available for at least a day before being removed, prompted the legal team for Miller’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno, to demand answers on how the material was shared. It also spurred outrage from Bernie Moreno, who had previously said his former son-in-law should no longer serve in Congress.

“On Sunday, when he went out and did what he did, including releasing photos of my granddaughter completely naked, that now you have hundreds and thousands of psychotic human beings that have that, and to say ‘oops’ is grotesque,” the senator told reporters Tuesday.

With pressure mounting, the House Ethics Committee announced Tuesday that it is “reviewing allegations that Representative Max Miller may have engaged in domestic violence and abuse or illegal drug use.”

The committee said the fact it is investigating these allegations does not indicate that any code-of-conduct violation occurred.

Miller, who has denied the allegations of abuse, said earlier Tuesday he planned to ask the ethics panel to investigate him “to clear my name from these horrific attacks on myself and my family.”

As the allegations of domestic abuse against Miller have gained attention in recent days, allies of Donald Trump have been pushing the president to encourage Miller to drop his reelection bid, CNN reported Monday.

So far, however, Miller has vowed to remain in the race as he has denied the allegations against him from his ex-wife.

In a letter to Miller’s attorney obtained by CNN, Emily Moreno’s legal team said the post with the link to the folder had garnered more than 204,000 views by Monday afternoon.

“We view this matter with the utmost seriousness and hope you and your client do as well,” Moreno’s attorneys wrote.

Miller’s attorney, Aaron Minc, took responsibility in a statement to CNN for the image being included in the link.

“Unfortunately, I missed the last three pages of a 40+ page document with sensitive content,” Minc said in the statement. “It was completely unintentional and a mistake. The moment I discovered the issue on Monday morning, I corrected the file immediately.”

Minc said he made “multiple passes” through the documents to ensure that no potentially sensitive details, including the child’s name, were included in their public release. But the child’s name was included dozens of times in an earlier version of the public file seen by CNN, along with details about payments to medical providers and several images of their daughter.

“I am truly sorry to Congressman Miller, Ms. Moreno, both of their families, and, especially, to their daughter. I deeply regret the mistake,” the lawyer said.

The images were part of a February 2025 exchange between Moreno and Miller as they coordinated their child custody arrangements. In one message, sent on February 18, Moreno said she had noticed a large bruise on their child while she was taking a bath. Miller asked to see a picture of the injury — which turned out to be a broken collarbone — and Moreno sent an image of their daughter that was focused on the bruise, but which also showed her in a state of undress.

That injury prompted a police investigation that ended with no charges being filed.

The latest development comes ahead of a key deadline in Miller’s reelection campaign. According to the Ohio secretary of state’s office, if Miller were to withdraw before the close of business Tuesday, a special primary would be held to fill the vacancy for the GOP nomination.

However, were he to withdraw from the race after that deadline, party leaders could have a narrow window to replace him. The deadline to replace him on the ballot is August 10, but two days’ notice is required before party leaders would hold a meeting to pick the candidate.

Sen. Moreno on Tuesday declined to talk about Trump’s support for Miller’s reelection bid, telling reporters he doesn’t “care about the politics” of the situation. “This is truly the seventh level of hell. This has been a horrific experience for my entire family,” the senator said.

Miller told CNN in a text message Tuesday morning that Trump called him on Monday and “never asked me to drop out.”

Miller said “nothing changed” when asked whether he still plans to run for reelection.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Kristen Holmes, Manu Raju, Ellis Kim and Ethan Cohen contributed to this report.