'I'm not done!' Jake Tapper presses Max Miller over abuse claims
The Hill · C · trust 52/100
Comments: by Lindsey Granger, opinion contributor - 08/05/26 12:50 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Lindsey Granger, opinion contributor - 08/05/26 12:50 PM ET Comments: Link copied NOW PLAYING Ohio Republican Congressman Max Miller is facing an avalanche of accusations from multiple women , including his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, and former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham. Miller denies every single allegation. No criminal charges have been filed, and he has now asked the House Ethics Committee to investigate him, saying he has “absolutely nothing to hide.”
He’s also making one thing crystal clear: he doesn’t plan on going anywhere.
In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Miller rejected calls to resign and compared his political future to that of President Trump. That comparison says as much about today’s Republican Party as it does about Miller himself. Take a look.
Tapper: There are now three women, three women who have accused you of violent behavior. Politico published an article in 2021 that said you when you were in high school, you “pushed a girl out of the dorm of his room and she fell down some stairs after he became enraged when she resisted his attempts to touch her, according to three people who were there and many more who heard about the incident in the aftermath.” Now, you deny that. But the woman in question told Mother Jones reporter Abby Vesoulis just days ago that it happened and that it was “one of the more traumatic nights of her life.”
Miller: Well, I would love for that individual to go on the record because that —
Tapper: OK, hold, hold on, because I’m not done with the list of women that have accused you of violence. Then there is White House press secretary —
Tapper: OK, you were young. Then there’s former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, who is your ex-girlfriend. She accused you of being abusive and having a violent streak. She wrote in her book, “I could do nothing right by him. I would wake up every morning shaking with anxiety about his mood that day ... I had seen his temper before, and it had scared me.” She has recently filed a temporary restraining order against you in a defamation case. And now there are these claims from your ex-wife, Emily Moreno. And I guess the question is, are all three of these women who don’t know each other, are all three of them lying?
Miller: Yes, it’s very easy, and I can tell you why. Every single time — and people have asked me, “What are you gonna do? Are you gonna drop out of this race? Are you gonna resign? Are you gonna get out before the deadline?” And my answer to you, Jake, is no. And I can tell you why. In 2016, when President Donald J. Trump faced the most extreme allegations in the world that hit him day after day after day, and people in the media very much like yourself and others said that he would have no shot at winning, that he should not be the president of the United States. But guess what? He stayed in and he was resilient.
Here’s the thing, though: even Donald Trump, the person you’re using as the gold standard, reportedly appears to understand the political gravity of this moment.
According to Axios, Trump privately called Miller earlier this week and reportedly told him that “things aren’t looking good,” warning that his reelection campaign would be difficult. Publicly, though Trump has remained supportive, calling Miller “a good person” and saying he wanted to let the families work through the matter. But privately, the tone was very clearly different. If the president sees this as a political problem, perhaps Republicans in Congress should, too?
Instead, the silence has been deafening.
Miller’s own former father-in-law, Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno, has become one of his harshest critics , saying Miller “needs serious psychological help,” is “a danger” to his daughter, and should not serve in Congress.
Yet, beyond Moreno, few Republicans have publicly suggested Miller should step aside while the Ethics Committee investigates.
Contrast that with Democrats. Whether you like them or not, Democrats have repeatedly shown a willingness to pressure their own members to resign when scandals or credible allegations become politically or morally untenable. They understand that public trust is bigger than any one politician. Think Graham Platner, think Eric Swalwell.
Republicans, on the other hand, have increasingly adopted a bunker mentality. The instinct is no longer to evaluate the facts independently but to defend first, question later. Loyalty has become the default response, even when allegations come from multiple women, involve domestic abuse claims, and divide members of their own party.
Elected office isn’t a courtroom. Members of Congress are entrusted with enormous power, and the standard for public confidence should be higher than simply avoiding criminal charges. Voters deserve representatives whose conduct inspires confidence.
Ironically, Miller’s strategy of recently requesting his own Ethics Committee investigation isn’t unprecedented. Former Congressman Charlie Rangel, remember him? Well, he did the same in 2008 , asking the committee to investigate allegations against him. That gamble backfired spectacularly. After a lengthy investigation, Rangel was found to have violated multiple House ethics rules , was censured by the full House, lost his powerful committee chairmanship, and ultimately left Congress. History suggests this is hardly a guaranteed path to vindication — it simply guarantees the facts will have their day.
Which brings me to the people who’ve built an entire political identity around “family values.”
Traditional conservatives, where are you? I hear you all often championing a vision of the…
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