Ex-Wife Sues Rep. Max Miller Over Shared Photo of Daughter

Emily Moreno, the ex-wife of Republican Rep. Max Miller of Ohio, has sued the embattled congressman and his lawyer, Aaron Minc, alleging they uploaded a nude image of the couple's infant daughter to a publicly accessible Dropbox folder during their custody battle.

The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, argues that Miller "recklessly published and disclosed to the world a nude image" of the child. The photo was part of a larger set of documents Miller's team compiled to respond to domestic abuse allegations against him following the couple's divorce.

Those allegations, which Miller denies, include claims he held a gun to Moreno's head, poured boiling water on her, and engaged in conduct that resulted in their two-year-old daughter's collarbone being broken.

The lawsuit alleges Miller "so desperately wanted to salvage his political job" that he "recklessly and intentionally" handed Minc a "trove of documents and photos, indifferent about what they contained or how they were used." Miller then shared a link to the files online after going live on social media on August 2 to deny the abuse allegations. According to Moreno's lawyers, more than 400,000 people saw or interacted with Miller's posts containing the Dropbox link.

The suit seeks $150,000 in damages for every time someone accessed, transferred, distributed, published or downloaded the image of the daughter. Minc previously took sole responsibility for inadvertently releasing the unredacted photo.

Miller, who is seeking re-election in a conservative Ohio district, has faced calls to resign from members of his own party, including his father-in-law, Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno. President Trump has remained largely supportive of Miller, and reports indicate the White House blocked efforts to remove him from the November ballot.

Democratic challenger Brian Poindexter has intensified attacks on Miller, saying "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." The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has added Poindexter to its "Red to Blue" program targeting seats it hopes to flip.

The Guardian has approached both Miller and Minc for comment on the new lawsuit.