{
  "id": 14513732,
  "title": "How Rep. Max Miller and His Lawyer Try to Silence Foes",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/how-rep-max-miller-and-his-lawyer-try-to-silence-foes",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-14T18:19:57.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mother Jones",
    "slug": "mother-jones",
    "url": "https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/10/how-rep-max-miller-and-his-lawyer-try-to-silence-foes/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In recent years, Ohio Republican Representative Max Miller and his legal team have employed aggressive legal strategies to silence those critical of him, particularly in the wake of allegations of physical abuse against three women. His crisis communications adviser at the time of Mother Jones' planned investigation into the abuse claims claimed Miller had numerous defamation lawyers. The senator's aggressive approach to legal threats includes defamation lawsuits against former romantic partners who accused him of assault, such as former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham, who alleged that an ex, widely assumed to be Miller, \"got physical\" with her. Additionally, Miller's legal team sent cease and desist letters to local television stations and a political organizer, Amanda Litman, for reporting on his violent behavior, which they deemed defamatory.\n\nMiller has also threatened his former father-in-law, US Senator Bernie Moreno, with potentially reopening divorce proceedings and seeking spousal support, as well as claiming ownership of personal and real property. Furthermore, his lawyer, Larry Zukerman, sent a cease and desist letter to Matthew Kampert, the ex-husband of Jaclyn Alatrash, a woman who had a business relationship with Miller. The letter threatened legal action if Kampert continued to speak negatively about his ex-wife in the media. Kampert accused the letter of being an attempt to extort money from him. These actions demonstrate Miller's and his legal team's unwavering use of legal and reputational threats, even in an age of heightened political lawfare.",
  "summary": "A few months ago, as Mother Jones prepared to publish an investigation about allegations of physical abuse against three women by Ohio Republican Rep. Max Miller, his crisis communications adviser warned me that Miller has “many defamation lawyers.” When I asked the spokesperson, Chris Vlasto, if that was a threat, he demurred. But the possible […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}