House Ethics Panel Opens Probe Into Rep. Max Miller After He Requested It Himself

Since Rep. Max Miller's attorney shared a nude photo of his 2-year-old daughter in a Sunday, August 2 social media post, the fallout has included a formal House Ethics Committee investigation and tension with the congressman's former father-in-law, Sen. Bernie Moreno.

The House Ethics Committee announced Tuesday, August 4, that it is "reviewing allegations that Representative Max Miller may have engaged in domestic violence and abuse or illegal drug use," according to NPR. Miller himself requested the probe, telling reporters he wanted to "clear my name from these horrific attacks on myself and my family," CNN reported.

Miller, a two-term Ohio Republican, is locked in a divorce and custody battle with Emily Moreno, daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH). Emily has accused Miller of throwing hot water on her, holding a gun to her head, pushing her hard enough to cause injury, and breaking their daughter's collarbone, according to Us Weekly. Miller has denied all of it and has filed a defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife.

The Dropbox mistake

Trying to rebut those allegations, Miller posted a link on X on Sunday to a Dropbox folder containing what he said were messages, videos, and images proving his innocence. The folder was visible to his nearly 60,000 followers.

Buried in that folder was an unredacted, fully nude photo of his 2-year-old daughter, taken in February 2025 during a custody exchange related to an injury the child had suffered, according to Us Weekly. The child's name also appeared "dozens of times" in an earlier version of the file reviewed by CNN.

Miller's attorney, Aaron Minc, took responsibility for the release in a statement to CNN on Tuesday. "Unfortunately, I missed the last three pages of a 40+ page document with sensitive content," Minc said. "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 before posting and apologized to Miller, Moreno, both families, and "especially" to the daughter.

Miller then reposted a second Dropbox folder that did not contain the uncensored images, according to CNN.

Moreno's response

Sen. Bernie Moreno, who had stayed largely silent on his daughter's allegations, went public for a second time this week to condemn Miller over the photo release, according to Breitbart. Breitbart's framing that the release involved "Child Sexual Abuse Material" reflects language used by Emily Moreno's attorneys, not a legal finding. No charge or criminal referral has been reported in connection with the photo.

Emily's legal team, the Chandra Law Firm, sent a letter to Miller's attorney demanding answers about who decided to share the image, whether anyone vetted the folder before posting, how many people downloaded the photo, and why a second folder was later scrubbed. The letter states that at least one image "could be considered" CSAM because the child's genitals were visible, and set a deadline of close of business Wednesday, August 5, for a response. That is an allegation from an interested party in active litigation, not a determination by police or prosecutors.

Chandra Law Firm said the original post drew more than 204,000 views between when it went up Sunday and the following afternoon. Minc, for his part, pushed back publicly at New York Times correspondent Annie Karni for publishing the letter without contacting him first.

Miller stays in the race, despite pressure from Trump allies

Despite the controversy, Miller told CNN's Jake Tapper on "The Lead" Tuesday that he intends to stay in his reelection race. "I'm going to continue to push. I am going to win this race," he said.

CNN reported Monday that allies of President Trump have been urging him to encourage Miller to drop out. Miller said Trump called him personally Monday and told him, "Maxie, it's going to be a tough race... I don't know if you're going to be able to, you know, pull this one out." Speaking to reporters later Tuesday as he boarded Air Force One en route to Las Vegas, Trump said he feels "badly" for Miller and hopes he can "work it out."

Miller has denied his ex-wife's abuse allegations and admitted to CNN that he last used illegal drugs "several years ago," while denying current use and confirming he takes testosterone replacement therapy. He called the photo release "awful" but pushed back when Tapper described it as "shockingly reckless," saying, "I wouldn't say that it's shockingly" reckless, according to CNN's reporting.

The Ohio seat is considered competitive and could factor into which party controls the House after the midterms. Emily Moreno's attorneys are still waiting on Miller's legal team to answer their questions about who accessed and downloaded the images before the Wednesday deadline they set. The House Ethics Committee has not indicated a timeline for its review.