A Glimpse Inside the Investigation Into Max Miller

She has also alleged that he caused an injury to their daughter, which prompted an investigation.

The most compelling clue that the injury to the 2-year-old daughter of Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) may have been inflicted and not accidental was the bruise itself: It seemed to be shaped like a handprint.

On Feb. 19, an X-ray confirmed that the child’s collarbone was broken. But it was the apparent “handprint bruise,” including what appeared to be a thumbprint on her right shoulder, that led a Cleveland Clinic doctor to theorize that someone could have grabbed the girl from behind with their left hand, according to police records.

Cleveland Clinic staff reported the case to a child welfare agency, which alerted police.

The child abuse investigations that followed have engulfed the Ohio Republican’s congressional campaign, bringing national attention to a contentious custody dispute and surfacing allegations from Miller’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno, that he once held a gun to her head and on another occasion threw her against a wall. Miller, who has denied the claims, is now running for reelection under the cloud of a House ethics investigation.

The Washington Post reviewed video-recorded police interviews, court documents and law enforcement records to assemble an account of how the months-long investigations by the local police department and the county child welfare agency ultimately failed to identify a perpetrator. The account shows that investigators scrutinized a five-day period when the child was shuttling between her parents’ homes. In the days that followed, Miller became increasingly insistent that his ex-wife had caused the broken collarbone, while she raised suspicions about him and also the child’s nanny, the records show.

In July, after details from the investigation and the custody case came to light, notably in reports from Mother Jones and CNN, Miller faced pressure to drop out of the congressional race in time for the Republican Party to replace him on the November ballot. The deadline to do so passed on Aug. 10, and Democratic fundraising groups now believe Miller’s reelection bid in a typically red House district could be competitive.

NEW video obtained by @abbyvesoulis brings you inside the room to show you exactly how Max Miller downplays his daughter's broken collarbone.

And hear Emily Moreno in her own words describe Miller allegedly pulling a gun on her.pic.twitter.com/LG0x3p5D4R

— sam (@samveepee) August 5, 2026

WATCH: police footage shows Republican Congressman Max Miller trying to downplay his daughter’s broken collarbone: “it’s actually extremely common.” pic.twitter.com/oMf8N54JZa

— Kaivan Shroff (@KaivanShroff) August 6, 2026

Investigators found that Moreno, Miller, the representative’s girlfriend, and the nanny all had access to the child. Each of them has denied harming her.

Four adults who investigators determined had access to the girl — Moreno, Miller, Miller’s girlfriend and the nanny — denied hurting the child, knowing how she got hurt or seeing any incident that could explain the fracture.

Moreno, 32, told authorities that she believed her daughter could have suffered the collarbone fracture while in Miller’s care, though a psychologist said in a deposition that Moreno was suspicious of the nanny. Miller, 37, initially suggested to police that the injuries could have been caused by a car seat but later blamed Moreno, saying: “She did it. She’s guilty.”

Miller’s spokesman pointed out that none of the investigators found evidence that Miller caused the child’s injuries.