Sen. Alexander's aide arrested on child porn charges

Catalina Camia | USA TODAY

Sen. Lamar Alexander's chief of staff was arrested by postal inspectors on charges of possession and distribution of child pornography, the Justice Department said Wednesday.

Ryan Loskarn, 35, will remain in custody pending a court hearing scheduled for Thursday in Washington, D.C., Justice spokesman Peter Carr said.

Alexander removed Loskarn from his job and named David Cleary to be his new chief of staff, hours after the senator issued a statement saying he was "stunned, surprised and disappointed" to learn that Loskarn's home had been searched by law enforcement agents.

"The courts will judge Mr. Loskarn's guilt or innocence, but under these circumstances, he cannot continue to fulfill his duties as chief of staff of this office," Alexander said in a statement. "Therefore, as of today, I have removed him from the payroll."

Alexander said his office is fully cooperating with the investigation.

Loskarn has worked for Alexander for more than a decade in several roles and became the senator's chief of staff last year. He earned about $169,000 for fiscal 2013, according to records compiled by LegiStorm.

Loskarn previously served as staff director for the Senate Republican Conference, when Alexander was its chairman, and as a House aide for California and Tennessee lawmakers. He also worked for the House Rules Committee.

Cleary has worked for Alexander for eight years, most recently as legislative director and as GOP staff director of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

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