Lawyer for Rep. Miller's ex-wife files for restraining order amid abuse claims
Source: Politics - CBSNews.com · Bias: Center
Summary
The ex-wife of GOP Rep. Max Miller asked a court to issue a restraining order blocking Miller from contacting her lawyer, as the Ohio congressman faces allegations of abuse — which he denies.
Lawyer for Rep. Miller's ex-wife files for restraining order amid abuse claims
Center
The ex-wife of GOP Rep. Max Miller asked a court to issue a restraining order blocking Miller from contacting her lawyer, as the Ohio congressman faces allegations of abuse — which he denies.
The journalist and lawyer suing Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche spotted "the biggest red flag" after unredacted Epstein records were handed over.In an episode of her podcast, Katie Phang discussed her case against Blanche that demands the release of the Epstein files with appropriate redactions. It marked the first time she's spoken about the case since the DOJ revealed that it handed over unredacted records from the Epstein files.Judge Emmet Sullivan is reviewing the unredacted records privately and will decide what's worth releasing. However, in a court filing, the DOJ justified its redactions and mentioned an accidental redaction of Jeffrey Epstein's email address."Todd Blanche admitted in his filing yesterday that Jeffrey Epstein's email address was redacted. He calls it an inadvertent redaction, but it's been redacted and has since been lifted," Phang explained. "Now, you may not think that's a big deal, but I think it's a very, very, very big deal. And in fact, that is the biggest red flag that you could find from what has happened here."The main argument in Phang's lawsuit is that the DOJ made improper redactions under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and she's demanding they either release the files or explain their redactions. The inadvertent redaction of Epstein's email address "shows that the way that the redactions were done here was wrong," Phang said."This wasn't some one-off mistake," Phang said. "We know for a fact that the Department of Justice released over and over again, hundreds and hundreds of times, the personal identifying information of several victims."Phang explained that even though the DOJ "wants to say, 'Oops, sorry, we missed it,'" the release of victims' names but not Epstein's email address proves the "process was flawed. We know that it didn't work, and now we know that it also worked to protect the identity of Jeffrey Epstein, the main perpetrator of these crimes."
Republicans worried about preserving their House or Senate majorities in November are wishing for the miracle of low gas prices, but recent surveys show they needn’t bother. Their goose is already cooked, regardless of where fuel prices go.When you’re down this far it’s nearly impossible to pull out of the dive, and after several new polls dropped this week, President Donald Trump hit the worst approval rating of his presidency. He also whacked a new low two days in a row with a FiftyPlusOne approval of 36 percent, amounting to a net score of −25.This is a historically bad rating for a president at this point in his term — worse than Biden’s at this point in 2022, and worse than Trump’s in his first term. It’s so bad now, that analyst G. Elliot Morris says falling gas prices won’t rescue Trump — or the Republican Party.“Cheaper gas didn’t buy him much, if anything at all,” said Morris, seeing Trump’s popularity fail to lift out of the doldrums despite a brief drop in gas prices this summer.Generally, a president’s approval drops as gas prices go up. Prices spiked from $3 to $4.50 on average this spring thanks to Trump’s entirely voluntary war on Iran. It dropped to an average of $3.78 in early July when Trump and his media puffed up an Iran “ceasefire.” But national averages jumped back to $4.10 a gallon when that ceasefire evaporated.It’s been a few weeks and the numbers are in, and what struck analysts was how low Trump’s approval remained even as he enjoyed a premature price dip before his not-at-all-ceasefire blew up.“While gas and approval had been closely linked from March through May, when Trump’s approval fell, the June gas price ebbing did not result in a commensurate rise in approval for Trump,” observed Morris. “While gas prices recovered almost a dollar from peak, Trump’s approval ticked up a few points. And then slides right back down to where it started.”Trump and the voters who put him back in the White House in the last election never forgave Joe Biden for high inflation, even after it cooled. Trump personally hammered Biden’s progress, despite U.S. prices steadily being on the decrease up until November, when pessimistic voters removed the Democrat in favor of Trump’s promises.If this lingering hard feelings looks familiar, it should, said Morris — because Trump is now on the bad end of them.Voters in 2024 were actually reacting to excess prices, not the rate of inflation, said Morris. When inflation “cools,” prices don’t fall — they just rise more slowly. “People loathe inflation precisely because they experience it as a permanent cut to their buying power, not a temporary rate that ticks up and down,” said Morris. “… people tend to form their impressions of the president’s handling of the economy and hold onto it.”Republicans are counting on cheap gas to bail them out this November, said Morris, but the evidence from his presidency — and Joe Biden’s — suggests Americans’ evaluations of Trump and his Republican Party are already baked in.All that’s left now is for Trump to ride his crashing plane down to where it’s headed.
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) was confronted about the brutal domestic violence allegations against his son-in-law, Rep. Max Miller — but couldn't say whether they're disqualifying.His daughter, Emily Moreno, has accused Max Miller, her ex-husband, of abuse in court filings and police records, alleging he burned her with hot water, held a gun to her head, shoved her hard enough to cause injury, and broke their daughter's collarbone. Her lawyers filed for a new restraining order against Miller this week, also alleging he harassed her attorneys and physically placed his hands on one of them.Miller is also facing a lawsuit alleging he broke the terms of his own hush deal, and this week, Emily Moreno filed a restraining order against him, revealing even more allegations.Asked directly whether Republicans should yank Miller off the November ballot, Moreno gave a two-word non-answer, according to NOTUS."I don't know," Moreno said.Miller, for his part, continues to deny all allegations and filed a lawsuit against Emily Moreno for defamation. He also made a counter-charge of domestic violence against her, but dropped that case this week amid growing backlash.Republican leadership has largely remained silent on the matter, but faces growing pressure to try to remove Miller from the ballot, as the deadline to do so is rapidly approaching and his suburban Cleveland congressional district might be vulnerable with him continuing to run.
Fairfax County officials are facing heavy criticism after the suspect in a violent domestic dispute and an attack on a cop turned out to be an illegal immigrant who was never prosecuted despite allegedly attacking his wife in April.Officers responding to a domestic disturbance call attempted to arrest Nehemia Fuentes Banegas on Tuesday after he allegedly stabbed himself while threatening his wife. Fuentes Banegas then allegedly fled on foot, hid in a bush, and lunged for a police officer's service weapon in a frenzied ambush, according to police.'3 in 10 residents of the county are immigrants.'Fuentes Banegas was shot by officers in the ensuing struggle, though the bullet only grazed his shoulder. He is being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.Fuentes Banegas was previously cited for reckless driving and driving without a license, according to court records. His race was recorded as white. Fuentes Banegas is a Honduran national who illegally entered the country in 2022, according to the Department of Homeland Security.“This criminal illegal alien from Honduras attacked a law enforcement officer and attempted to take the officer’s gun,” DHS spokesperson Lauren Bis said in a statement. “He has now been charged with attempted disarming of a law enforcement officer.” “ICE is calling on Governor Abigail Spanberger and her fellow sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this dangerous criminal from jail,” she continued.RELATED: DOJ goes to special court to send mother of terrorists back to Afghanistan Fairfax County J&DR Court DatabaseIn 2021, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano signed a procedure memorandum barring cooperation with federal immigration authorities.“To improve community safety, restore trust, and ensure all have equal protection of the law, employees of the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office shall not assist federal agents with civil immigration enforcement,” the memo reads. The document also notes that “3 in 10 residents of the county are immigrants.”Descano Chief of Staff Laura Birnbaum acknowledged that Fuentes Banegas recently faced other criminal charges. A warrant reveals he was accused of "imped[ing] the blood circulation or respiration of another person by knowingly, intentionally, and unlawfully blocking or obstructing the airway ... resulting in wounding or bodily injury."“Nehemia Fuentes faced charges earlier this year, but his wife, the victim in the case, indicated to prosecutors and other officials at a hearing in May that she did not want to prosecute at the time,” Birnbaum told Blaze News. “This kind of outcome is not uncommon in situations involving domestic violence, where prosecutors have little recourse if a case hinges on a victim’s testimony or cooperation.” Commonwealth of Virginia/Warrant of ArrestBirnbaum directed Blaze News to Sheriff Stacey Kincaid when asked if authorities notified ICE after Fuentes Banegas’ initial arrest.“As required by statute, whenever an undocumented person is booked into the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, ICE is notified that person has been taken into custody,” a sheriff’s office spokesperson told Blaze News. The Fairfax County Police Department directed Blaze News to its press release when reached for comment.“As they were responding to the scene, they encountered both the husband, our suspect, running from the scene and the wife pointing out to our responding patrol officers that, ‘Yes, that is in fact my husband,’” Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said in a press conference.“Our suspect takes his right hand, he grabs the firearm that the police officer had in his hand,” Davis said. “The officer, obviously startled, discharged his firearm three times.”A trial date has yet to be set. ICE has lodged a detainer for Fuentes Banegas, a DHS spokesperson told Blaze News.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Officials say they are investigating cyberattacks against municipal systems in Minnesota for possible links to Iranian groups.Minnesota officials previously revealed that state water operations were targeted by cyberattacks on Sunday and Monday.'I don't think there was an Iranian cyberattack. I think Minnesota ought to get its act together.'On Thursday, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warned water and wastewater operators that they could be similarly attacked. CISA said there was a significant increase in the attacks on "programmable logic controllers" involving outside actors changing passwords and locking out the operators. The agency urged operators to remove the PLCs and other operational technology from the internet as soon as possible."This activity has resulted in boil water notices and sustained manual operations," CISA said.The CISA warning did not mention Iran or Minnesota, but U.S. officials told ABC News that investigators were trying to determine if the hostile regime was responsible for the cyberattacks.The preliminary suspicion was first reported by the New York Times.CISA recommended even the most rudimentary of digital security practices, including enabling password protections and changing default passwords.President Donald Trump, when asked about the possibility of the attacks coming from Iran, blamed Minnesotan officials instead."I don't think so. I think that Minnesota is behind it," the president said to reporters. "You know who is behind it? Minnesota. Because they're grossly incompetent. I don't think there was an Iranian cyberattack. I think Minnesota ought to get its act together."He went on to say there would be more revelations about corruption in Minnesota coming from his administration.RELATED: New study: One Chinese cyberattack could make your taps run dry "Cyberattacks against critical infrastructure require a coordinated, whole-of-government response," said John Israel, Minnesota's chief information security officer, in a statement."This incident demonstrates why Minnesota has invested in strong cybersecurity capabilities and partnerships" he added. "Our response worked as intended, enabling agencies at every level of government to rapidly coordinate, contain the incident, and help prevent more serious impacts to critical services."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
President Trump said Thursday he may temporarily withdraw his nomination of Todd Blanche for attorney general after two Republican senators, John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, said they would not vote to advance Blanche’s nomination until they received written assurances that he would limit some of the terms in the controversial deal reached between the Department of Justice and President Trump to settle his personal lawsuit against the IRS.
Blanche, currently acting attorney general, is “refusing to make a clear commitment that American tax dollars aren’t going to go to the rioters of January 6th,” says Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna. “He’s refusing to make a clear commitment that Trump’s family could still be held liable for violating financial laws.”
Khanna also speaks about his ongoing efforts to bring justice for survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse, about which he says Blanche “has been the biggest obstacle to justice,” his recent trip to the occupied West Bank where he was detained by armed Israeli settlers and more.
A mass deportation is underway in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta Friday, as about half of the 60,000 migrants who charged into the diminutive territory Thursday have either left or been sent back to Morocco, Spanish authorities said — claiming they’re removing a staggering 150 people per minute. The sudden wave of migrants hit Ceuta...
Ohio Republican Rep. Max Miller has drawn scrutiny after his ex-wife said he abused her and their young daughter. Miller denies the allegations. Democrats want an ethics investigation.
