Rep. Max Miller appeared on CNN Tuesday as he continued an aggressive public push to reject allegations that he assaulted his ex-wife and their young daughter, accusations that have triggered widening political fallout.
In an interview with host Jake Tapper, Miller said his use of illegal drugs took place “several years ago.”
The acknowledgment came after Tapper pressed him about photographs of needles that his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, allegedly took near Miller’s bedside. Miller said the needles were connected to testosterone therapy.
A photograph obtained exclusively by the Daily Mail shows a syringe in Miller’s bedroom, an image that, if accurate, would appear to conflict with his recorded denial that he ever kept needles by his bed.
Miller also asked for an ethics investigation into his own conduct, a move his office framed in a release earlier Tuesday as an effort to clear his name.
On Sunday, he released a cache of audio recordings of conversations with Moreno, a decision that may have complicated his defense. In the recordings made public by Miller, Moreno accuses him of drug use, which she says was the “impetus” for her decision to leave. Miller denied the allegation.
A person who appears to be Miller was also pictured smiling while holding a bag of high-potency marijuana gummies, with each gummy containing 15 times California’s legal limit for the substance.
There is no evidence that Miller consumed the gummies, nor is there proof that the syringe shown in the photograph belonged to him or what it contained.
This image appears to have been taken by Emily Moreno inside the home she shared with Miller, a source familiar with the matter told the Daily Mail
Miller appeared on CNN Tuesday for an interview with Jake Tapper
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Emily Moreno is the daughter of Republican Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio, who broke months of silence over the weekend to call for his former son-in-law’s resignation, saying he should not hold public office and is a ‘danger’ to his daughter.
President Donald Trump reportedly told the under-fire representative in private that his campaign was ‘not looking good.’
In a lengthy livestream on X Sunday morning, Miller wholly denied all allegations of physical abuse that his wife, Emily Moreno, daughter of Ohio Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, has been accusing him of for the last few years since their divorce.
Miller also released years of audio and video recordings of various moments in his relationship with his ex-wife, attempting to prove his innocence to the public.
In one of the audio recordings secretly recorded and released by Miller, Emily Moreno accused him of drug use.
In the secretly recorded audio conversations by Miller, Emily Moreno asked him, ‘You’ve never recorded one of our conversations?’
‘I don’t,’ he responded. ‘I have never gone into your cellphone. And I’ve never gone into your computer. And I’ve never sneaked into your backpack,’ Miller said.
Emily Moreno then admitted to going through his backpack ‘because I truly do believe you have a drug problem.’
According to the audio recording, she said that she was concerned about his usage of marijuana, and also found needles by his bed, which she allegedly took photos of.
She called it a ‘huge impetus for why I left’ in the recordings released by Miller.
Senator Bernie Moreno, Emily’s father, and Miller’s ex-father-in-law, unleashed on Miller in a lengthy post on X on Sunday morning about an hour after Miller’s broadcast.
‘As he has admitted privately, Max Miller needs serious psychological help. He is a danger to my daughter, and I hold my breath every minute he has custody of my granddaughter,’ Bernie Moreno wrote.
‘If there are any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them. He should not serve in the House of Representatives. I believe Max Miller needs to seek professional help to end the clear pattern of abuse he has left in his wake. I believe he should not be free to continue endangering others until he does,’ he added.
In his Sunday video address, Miller also levied an accusation that Emily Moreno ‘has struggled with significant mental health challenges.’ Her spokesperson fought back against the claims.
