This image from video provided by WJLA-TV shows Ryan Loskarn, chief of staff to Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., being escorted from his Washington home by U.S. Postal Inspector police on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2013. Alexander said he has placed Loskarn on unpaid leave after learning the staffer's home was being searched as part of a child pornography investigation. (AP Photo/WJLA-TV)
December 11, 2013 - 12:43 PM
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander said Wednesday he has placed his chief of staff on unpaid leave after learning the staffer's home was being searched as part of a child pornography investigation.
In a news release Tuesday, Alexander said he had just been informed by the Senate legal counsel's office that law enforcement agents were conducting a search of Ryan Loskarn's home.
"I am stunned, surprised and disappointed by what I have learned," Alexander said in the news release.
Phone and email messages left for Loskarn were not immediately returned.
Video taken at the scene by WJLA-TV shows Loskarn being led from his home by U.S. Postal Inspector police. Loskarn appears to be in handcuffs, although a coat is draped over his arms.
Postal Inspector Jervay Rodgers said she could confirm only that the agency carried out "an enforcement action" in the area on Tuesday, but she said all documents related to that action currently are under seal.
Alexander is a former Tennessee governor and has also served as the U.S. Secretary of Education. He was first elected to the Senate in 2002.
News from © The Associated Press, 2013