Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham has filed a temporary restraining order against Rep. Max Miller in an Ohio court, escalating a years-long legal dispute as fellow Republicans publicly call for the congressman to resign.
Grisham's attorney, Mark S. Zaid, announced the filing Monday on the social platform X, stating that the restraining order targets Miller as part of an ongoing lawsuit. The Hill reported that the filing comes after Miller made public statements in a June interview with Spectrum News that Grisham's legal team views as a breach of their prior agreement.
The restraining order was filed in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and accuses Miller of violating a 2023 settlement agreement that included a nondisclosure agreement barring either party from publicly disparaging the other. Grisham served as White House communications director during President Trump's first term. Miller, a Republican representing an Ohio district Trump carried by 11 points in 2024, has denied all abuse allegations and says he will not leave office.
The legal trail between Grisham and Miller stretches back to 2021, when Grisham published an op-ed in the Washington Post describing an abusive relationship with an unnamed man. Miller responded by filing a defamation lawsuit against her. That case was eventually dropped, and both parties signed a nondisclosure agreement pledging not to disparage each other publicly.
That truce appears to have collapsed. The Washington Examiner reported that Miller allegedly violated the settlement on May 7 by posting on X, claiming Grisham had fabricated her domestic violence allegations. He reportedly used a secretly recorded audio clip of his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, as supposed evidence.
Grisham's attorneys argued in the Monday filing that Miller's decision to go public destroyed the agreement's purpose. They wrote: "Once Miller chose to publicly accuse Plaintiff of fabricating her allegations and publicly reinsert her into an ongoing media controversy, the contractual benefit of peace and finality were eroded."
In a June interview with Spectrum News, Miller pushed back on the allegations. He told the outlet it "should be noted" that an allegation against him "came out on the same day as somebody's book launch and the other part." He also invoked his ex-wife as a character witness: "My ex-wife was with me every single day during that time of my life in that election, and she, in her own words, will tell you that I never did any of those things."
That defense has not aged well. Emily Moreno has since filed her own, separate restraining order against Miller, and her allegations are far more severe than anything in Grisham's original op-ed.
Miller's ex-wife has accused him in court filings of hurling scalding hot water at her, holding a gun to her head, and breaking their daughter's collarbone. The New York Post reported that Moreno also alleged Miller shoved her and that the scalding water left burn marks. The couple is locked in a custody battle over their young daughter.
Miller denies every one of these allegations. On Tuesday, he announced on X that he would seek a House ethics investigation into himself, a move clearly designed to signal confidence in his own innocence.
He wrote: "In light of all the renewed interest in my family affairs I am going to file my own paperwork for an ethic investigation to clear my name from the horrific attacks on myself and my family." He added: "The accusations continue to change, but my facts stay the same. I am looking forward to my colleagues reading everything for themselves."
Miller's prior defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife over the abuse allegations is part of a broader legal strategy to fight the claims in public. But the ethics self-referral is unusual, members of Congress rarely invite their own colleagues to investigate them, and it remains unclear whether the House Ethics Committee has acknowledged or responded to the request.
The political fallout has been swift and bipartisan in one direction: against Miller. Sen. Bernie Moreno, the Ohio Republican who is Emily Moreno's father, publicly called for Miller to resign. His statement on X was blunt.
Moreno wrote: "He is a danger to my daughter, and I hold my breath every minute he has custody of my granddaughter. If there are any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them."
He is not alone. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida told MeidasTouch reporter Pablo Manríquez in a brief interview: "First off, he shouldn't be in office, right." Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas went further, telling the same outlet that Miller should resign based on what he knows. Marshall said he had not heard Miller's side directly but knows the Moreno family and "can't imagine they would go through this process if there wasn't something there."
Other unnamed Republicans have also called for Miller's resignation, and some within the party are quietly exploring whether there is still time to replace him on the ballot. The deadline for Miller to withdraw is approaching, though no specific date has been reported.
The situation has added another layer of internal tension to a House Republican conference already struggling with its own divisions on the legislative floor. A contested primary or special election in a district Trump won by double digits would be an unwelcome distraction for a party trying to hold its majority.
President Trump addressed the situation when reporters pressed him at the White House. He did not condemn Miller or call for his resignation. He did not revoke his endorsement.
"It's a very sad thing. I know Max. He's a good person," Trump said. "I'm going to let the families figure that out. But it's accusations, and I'm gonna let them figure that out."
That response, treating the matter as a private family dispute rather than a political crisis, stands in contrast to the growing chorus of Republican senators who see the allegations as disqualifying. Trump's reluctance to weigh in more forcefully may reflect a broader calculation: Miller was a former White House aide who married at Mar-a-Lago, where Breitbart reported Trump himself made a toast at the ceremony.
The courthouse confrontations have not been limited to filings. Emily Moreno alleged in court documents that Miller physically grabbed and goaded her attorney during a February hearing, reportedly telling the lawyer, "Come at me!" A separate restraining order was filed on the attorney's behalf after that incident. Miller's alleged confrontation with the lawyer added yet another dimension to a case already thick with accusations of volatile behavior.
Miller has vowed to continue his reelection campaign. But the math is starting to work against him politically even in a district that leans heavily Republican. Democrats are eyeing the seat as a potential upset opportunity, an outcome that would have seemed far-fetched before the abuse allegations surfaced.
Just The News noted that Grisham later revealed the unnamed man in her 2021 op-ed was Miller, connecting the two separate sets of allegations, Grisham's and Emily Moreno's, into a pattern that Miller's critics say disqualifies him from public office. Miller insists the accusations are coordinated and false.
No court has ruled on the merits of any of the abuse claims. Miller has not been charged with a crime. But the restraining orders are piling up, the Republican calls for resignation are growing louder, and the ballot deadline is ticking. Whether Miller's self-requested ethics investigation clears his name or simply buys time, the political damage is already done.
When multiple women file restraining orders, fellow Republican senators call for your resignation, and your own former father-in-law says you are a danger to his daughter and granddaughter, asking colleagues to read your paperwork is not a defense, it is a delay.