This article is from the archive of our partner .

Ryan Loskarn, chief of staff to Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander, is being investigated by law enforcment regarding allegations involving child pornography.

The news broke after Alexander's office released a statement about a search being conducted at the 35-year-old staffer's home. "I am stunned, surprised and disappointed by what I have learned," the statement reads, adding that the office "immediately placed Mr. Loskarn on administrative leave without pay."

Prior to joining Alexander's office in 2011, Loskarn served as staff director of the Senate Republican Conference. At the time he took over as chief of staff, Roll Call called him one of the "Senate GOP’s top strategists and aides." That same year, the publication named Loskarn to its "Fabulous 50," an index of staffers' political savvy.

In an unusual indicator of Loskarn's significance on the Hill, Politico ran a piece in 2010 detailing what Loskarn ate over the course of a birthday weekend. "For a mid-day snack," on the Saturday, Politico reported, "Loskarn had an apple and some cheddar cheese after taking a break from working on his front lawn on Capitol Hill."

Update, 4:40 p.m.: According to Talking Points Memo, Loskarn has been arrested by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service "on probable cause for possession and distribution of child pornography." He remains in custody.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.