Ohio TV channels air Miller opponent’s ad despite legal threat — The Hill

Television channels in Cleveland, Ohio, aired a campaign advertisement by Democrat Brian Poindexter against Republican Congressman Max Miller despite a letter from the politician’s lawyer demanding that it stop being broadcast. As The Hill reports, citing Politico, the ad aired on Tuesday on WKYC-TV, WEWS-TV, WJW-TV and WOIO-TV.

Lawyer’s letter

Miller’s lawyer, Alejandro Brito, sent a letter to WKYC-TV executives last week demanding that they stop airing the ad. According to Politico, the lawyer called the claims in the advertisement “false, malicious, and defamatory” and said they were intentionally aimed at discrediting the congressman.

Brito also wrote that the television channel could be required to pay punitive damages if it aired the advertisement. The letter concerned claims of alleged violence by Miller against his ex-wife, Emily Moreno.

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Content of the advertisement

In the ad, a local sheriff says that Moreno has a restraining order against Miller. He also mentions her previous accusations: according to Moreno, Miller allegedly abused her, held a gun to her head, and broke the collarbone of their two-year-old daughter. The sheriff in the advertisement says that his 34 years of law enforcement experience show that Miller should not be in power.

Moreno, the daughter of Ohio Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, also accused Miller of allegedly pouring hot water on her. The congressman denies the accusations, made during the former spouses’ custody dispute over their daughter.

Poindexter, who seeks to defeat Miller in Ohio’s 7th congressional district election, said that the congressman is threatening to sue the television channel so that people do not hear the facts about his personal life. Miller, who is serving his second term in the U.S. House of Representatives, is also the subject of an investigation by the House Ethics Committee.