WASHINGTON — Embattled Rep. Max Miller denied using Meta Glasses to make secret recordings during a July court hearing after his ex-wife’s lawyers raised concerns that something seemed off about the congressman’s embrace of the new technology.
Emily Moreno’s attorneys demanded Miller (R-Ohio) fork over the Meta Glasses for inspection after he was seen wearing them before a July 28 hearing in their messy child custody fight.
“This is notable because [Miller] had never worn any sort of eyewear to a hearing previously,” Moreno’s attorneys wrote in a filing last week. “[Miller] specifically wore Meta Glasses, which, importantly, can be used for recording purposes.”
“[Miller] has a history of surreptitious recording—he has made reference to the fact that Ohio is a single-party consent state and how he is not violating any laws when he records conversations with individuals multiple times,” they added.
The Ohio congressman has publicly released multiple secret recordings he made of his ex-wife, including one that lent credence to her accusations that he dumped hot water on her in 2024.
Miller’s team denied that he was wearing them during the court hearing. But Moreno’s attorneys alluded to concerns that he could’ve set the glasses down and been recording their private conversations during deliberations.
Looming over the Meta Glasses feud are long-simmering tensions between Miller and Moreno’s lawyer, veteran family law attorney Andrew Zashin.
In May, Zashin’s team accused Miller of trying to goad him into a brawl after a tense hearing. Miller had allegedly insulted Zashin’s fiancée after he grilled him about his girlfriend during the hearing.
Zashin had focused on how Miller falsely claimed his girlfriend was present for a Feb. 1 custody exchange in which Moreno accused her ex-husband of shoving her. Miller admitted to making the false statement under oath, saying he misremembered it because the girlfriend showed up to the house that day.
Tensions between the two sides prompted Miller’s team to try to disqualify Zashin earlier this year before moving to withdraw that effort in July.
Late last week, Miller’s team fired back at the push to inspect his Meta Glasses and provided a sworn statement from the congressman asserting that he was not recording during the hearing.
“Defendant’s Motion is the latest in a series of filings that have nothing to do with the best interests of the parties’ minor child and everything to do with generating negative publicity for [Miller] and harassing him through the discovery process,” Miller’s attorneys wrote.
Both Miller’s and Moreno’s spokespeople declined to comment.
Miller is ensnared in a messy custody battle against Moreno over their two-year-old daughter. The legal fight has revealed Moreno’s abuse accusations and raised concerns about their daughter’s broken collarbone.
A police report noted that she had “what appeared to be a handprint bruise” on her shoulder.
The congressman has emphatically denied all abuse accusations made by his ex-wife in court and has been adamant that he had nothing to do with his two-year-old daughter’s broken collarbone.
Miller filed a domestic violence case against his ex-wife that was formally dropped in July.
Moreno is not the only one to accuse Miller of abuse. His former flame, ex-White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, did as well. He sued her for defamation in 2021 but later voluntarily dropped the suit in 2023 due to a settlement
In July, Grisham sued Miller, claiming he violated their settlement with his social media statements about her as he dealt with a firestorm over Moreno’s accusations. Ultimately, Miller implied that he didn’t control his social media accounts, claiming that they are run by his lawyers and campaign.
“I haven’t had social media on my phone for two years,” he said in court, according to The Plain Dealer.
On Monday, the judge overseeing that suit ordered both Miller and Grisham to take down multiple social media posts that could be interpreted as attacking one another.
