Tennessee congressman Steve Cohen made headlines in February when it was discovered that he was tweeting with a 24-year-old aspiring model during the Stare of the Union address. Cohen later revealed that it was his daughter, but a DNA test has proven that she isn’t his daughter at all.
Back in February, Cohen said that the woman was Victoria Brink, the daughter of a high school friend of his. The 63-year-old unmarried representative said that he did the math and concluded that he must be the father. Cohen and Brink successfully kept the story from the media until the State of the Union tweets were leaked.
But CNN has obtained DNA from Brink and the man who raised her, John Brink, and discovered that Cohen was in fact not Brink’s father.
Brink did appear on CNN’s New Day, saying that after Cohen claimed to be her father, she went up to John Brink. “We met up and I told my dad. We cried and he said, 'No matter what I love you. You're my daughter,’” she recalled.
According to The Washington Post, Cohen later issued a statement. He said he was “stunned” by the news.
“I was stunned and dismayed,” Cohen said. “I still love Victoria, hold dear the time I have shared with her and hope to continue to be part of her life.”
You can watch the CNN story below: