Max Miller Just Suggested He Has Dirt on Bernie Moreno

“There are certain things that he would like me to remain quiet about.”

A heated scene unfolded at the Cuyahoga County family court in Cleveland on Wednesday, as the key players in a bitter dispute that has grabbed national headlines assembled in one room.

The case is one that Mother Jones reporter Abby Vesoulis has been covering for weeks: a custody fight over the two-year-old daughter of Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) and his ex-wife, Emily Moreno—whose father is Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio).

Miller is currently defending himself against Emily's allegations that he held a gun to her head, shoved her against a wall, and threw scalding water at her—all of which he vehemently denies. Despite these allegations, and at least six Republican senators (including his former father-in-law) urging him to drop out, Miller is running for reelection and has vowed to stay in the race. The deadline to replace him on the ballot passed earlier this month.

Abby got a rare chance to question Miller directly, just weeks after uncovering more than 2,000 pages of court and police records detailing the abuse allegations. Miller had initially declined to speak to the press after the hearing, referring all inquiries to his attorney. But while his lawyer was speaking, Miller interrupted to deliver what sounded like a veiled threat against Sen. Moreno.

"I was a part of that family for a very long time," he said. "There are certain things that he would like me to remain quiet about, and I respectfully have... because that's not my business to share. But it's politically motivated."

His lawyer went further, claiming Sen. Moreno "hates Max and wants to destroy Max" and only "came out of the woodwork" to attack Miller once reporters began asking why he had stayed silent about his daughter's allegations.