Sen. Bernie Moreno, a Republican from Ohio, broke his silence around the horrific abuse claims his daughter has leveled against her ex-husband Rep. Max Miller on Sunday, calling for Miller to resign and seek mental health treatment.

Moreno issued a statement on Sunday only minutes after Miller himself read a statement on a live stream denying claims of abuse against his ex-wife and two-year-old daughter.

“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,” read the senator’s statement in part. “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.”

He added: “It has been horrific to watch this play out in full public view, all while knowing an innocent two-year-old girl is caught in the middle. Our priority has always been protecting our daughter and our granddaughter. Out of concern for the safety of my family, I hoped to keep this matter private but Max Miller’s increasingly erratic and dangerous behavior has made that impossible.”

The embattled congressman is suing his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, and her attorney over claims they’ve made that Miller allegedly held a gun to Emily’s head, broke his daughter’s collarbone, and engaged in drug use. He is separately facing a lawsuit from ex-Trump White House aide Stephanie Grisham, who dated him in 2019 and 2020 and was sued by him after she accused him, without naming him directly, of domestic abuse in a Washington Post op-ed. Grisham claims he violated the terms of a nondisclosure agreement they signed to settle that lawsuit, by claiming she was lying.

Miller appeared on video to deny all allegations of criminal or threatening behavior he faces. The Independent reached out to him separately regarding Sen. Moreno’s statement released to X.

“No court or agency has even substantiated any allegation against me,” said the congressman. “Every single one of these allegations were already investigated.”

“I’m not getting out of this race, and I’m winning in November,” he continued.

Miller did not address the senator, a fellow Republican, during his own livestream.

Neither did Rep. Mike Turner, Miller’s colleague in the House, when he was asked about the situation on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday. Turner dodged questions about whether Republican leadership or voters should take up the issue before November, when Miller is up for re-election, and instead robotically repeated that the allegations should be handled in “court” and not “a television studio”.

Republicans, including Sen. Moreno before his statement Sunday, have been facing increasing pressure to address the allegations leveled at Miller by his ex-wife and ex-girlfriend for days. The district Miller represents is a safe Republican seat but still has some on the right worried about the damage the explosive nature of the allegations could do, both as it relates to his re-election chances and those of other Republicans.

A spokesperson for Emily Moreno also released a statement, responding to Miller’s livestream appearance.

“It is shameful that Max Miller decided to go on a bizarre and lie-filled rant about his ex-wife to desperately try to save his political career. There is a documented trove of evidence that Miller has a history of violent and dangerous behavior and no amount of victim shaming will change that,” said Stefan Mychajliw.

“It is despicable and abhorrent that Miller lied on an unhinged and humiliating video for their daughter to watch one day. No loving parent would have ever used their daughter as a PR pawn to save their own political career. Miller can lie and spin on X, but he cannot do so under oath in a court of law. We are confident that justice will prevail in court.”

This is a breaking news report. More to follow…