Mike Lawler Says Ohio Congressman's Abuse Case Belongs in Family Court

Republican Representative Mike Lawler said that the domestic abuse allegations against Ohio Representative Max Miller should be settled in family court. He said it during a televised debate with Democratic challenger Cait Conley in New York's 17th Congressional District, one of the closest House races in the country.

The hour-long debate aired on PIX11. Conley had accused Lawler of failing to call out Miller, a fellow Republican. Lawler answered briefly and then turned the attack around, accusing Conley of taking money from former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.

Cait Conley Presses Mike Lawler on Max Miller

Conley said Lawler "fails to call out the abuses by Max Miller," whom she called "a domestic abuser." She also invoked Miller's former father-in-law, a Republican senator from Ohio, who she said had called for Miller's removal from Congress.

The moderator then asked Lawler whether there should be a federal definition or law for consent. Before answering that question, Lawler responded to Conley. He said he did not blame Miller's ex-wife and added: "I know both of them it's very tragic ... and it should be dealt with in family court."

He then went straight to Conley's donors.

"You're the one who took money from Eliot Spitzer who trafficked young women across state lines for the purpose of sexually abusing them and you refuse to return those funds," Lawler said.

Spitzer, a Democrat, resigned as governor in 2008 after he was tied to a prostitution ring. Lawler did not say when Spitzer gave to Conley or how much. Investigators found Spitzer had arranged for women to travel across state lines, Fox News reported, but that November federal prosecutors declined to charge him. They said they found no misuse of public or campaign money and cited Justice Department practice on prostitution cases.

Conley shot back: "I do not need you to mansplain to me." She added, "I don't need this guy to try to tell me how a woman should respond to sexual violence or domestic abuse allegations against women."

"You still haven't condemned the behavior of Max Miller your buddy and I don't believe those types of folks belong in Congress," Conley said. She said she agreed with Miller's former father-in-law.

The Record on Max Miller

Miller's ex-wife is the daughter of Republican Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno. She filed for a protective order in May. She has accused Miller of throwing hot water at her, throwing her against a wall and holding a gun to her head, NBC News reported. Miller has said "This is all political" and asked whether she would have offered to cook him dinner six days later if he had assaulted her. He has sued her for defamation.

On August 2, Moreno wrote that "Max Miller fails" any basic standard of character for elected office and "should not serve in the House of Representatives." Several other Republican senators, including Ohio's Jon Husted, Alabama's Katie Britt and Kansas' Roger Marshall, said Miller should resign. On August 6, Miller asked the House Ethics Committee to investigate the allegations, saying he has "absolutely nothing to hide."

Mike Lawler's Earlier Comments on Max Miller

The family-court line was not new. On August 13, Dana Bash asked Lawler on CNN about $10,000 he received from Miller's PAC. Lawler said "this is something that should play out in family court" and that "there's been nothing that has been corroborated here," The New Republic reported. His campaign said it had no plans to return the money.

Why the NY-17 Race Matters

The exchange came less than three weeks before Election Day, in a district where Lawler has little room to spare. An Emerson College/PIX11 poll of 400 likely voters, taken September 27 to 29, had Conley at 48 percent and Lawler at 46 percent. That lead is within the poll's 4.9-point margin of error. The same poll found Democratic crossover support for Lawler had dropped eight points, to 12 percent. A McLaughlin & Associates poll released by Lawler's campaign on October 2 had him ahead 50 to 47.

The Cook Political Report has rated the seat a Toss-up since January. Nationally, Democrats lead by 7.8 points in PolitiKool's polling average of the generic congressional ballot.

Right after the exchange, the moderator moved on to Title IX.