Republican Rep. Max Miller is facing a federal lawsuit from his ex-wife after a public Dropbox folder he shared online allegedly contained a nude image of their 2-year-old daughter.
Emily Moreno filed the lawsuit Wednesday in the US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on behalf of the couple's daughter. The complaint accuses Miller and his lawyer, Aaron Minc, of 'recklessly' publishing and disclosing a nude image of the child to the public.
The image was allegedly included in a collection of files Miller made public while defending himself against abuse allegations raised during his bitter custody dispute with Moreno.
Miller, an Ohio Republican and ally of Donald Trump, posted a link to the Dropbox folder on X on 2 August, alongside a video statement denying the allegations against him.
Image Allegedly Viewed Through Public Link
Moreno's lawyers said the folder was available online for hours and was seen or interacted with by more than 400,000 people. The complaint states that, as of 10 August, Miller's X post containing the link had been viewed more than 233,000 times.
Moreno is seeking $150,000 (£110,000) in damages for each time the image was accessed, transferred, distributed, published or downloaded. Her attorney, Subodh Chandra, said the child had become 'collateral damage' in Miller's effort to defend his political career.
'Any parent – and any lawyer – knows the grave danger of posting nude photos of a toddler on the public web for pedophiles and bad actors to download,' Chandra said.
Lawyer Says Release Was a Mistake
Minc has accepted responsibility for the file's release, saying the exposure was unintentional.
'I was the only person responsible for assembling, creating, reviewing, adding, deleting, redacting, or making any changes to the information and files that were in this folder,' he said in a statement.
He said he made several passes through the material to remove sensitive information but missed the final pages of one document.
'It was completely unintentional and a mistake,' Minc said.
According to Minc, the image remained online for about 23 hours.
Miller later said that the release of the image was 'awful', though he pushed back against criticism that it was 'shockingly reckless'.
Custody Fight Spills Into Politics
The lawsuit comes amid a highly public custody battle between Miller and Moreno, whose father is Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno. She has accused Miller of abuse, including holding a gun to her head, pouring boiling water on her and harming their daughter. Miller denies all of the allegations.
The Dropbox folder was reportedly compiled as part of Miller's response to those claims.
The lawsuit alleges Miller was so desperate to protect his political future that he provided Minc with a large trove of documents and photos without regard for what they contained or how they might be used.
Miller is seeking re-election in Ohio and has resisted calls to drop out, including criticism from members of his own party. His Democratic opponent, Brian Poindexter, has intensified attacks, arguing that someone facing such allegations should not remain in power.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has also added Poindexter to its 'Red to Blue' programme, signalling that Democrats see Miller's district as increasingly competitive.
Trump has remained largely supportive of Miller, and reports say the White House opposed efforts to replace him on the ballot.
