chief of staff Archives - Oak Ridge Today

Remembering Howard H. Baker Jr., former U.S. senator, Reagan chief of staff

Posted at 2:06 pm June 30, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 1 Comment

Howard Baker

KNOXVILLE—Howard H. Baker Jr., former U.S. senator and founder of UT’s Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, died on Thursday, June 26. He was 88.

Baker earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, in 1949. UT’s Baker Center was founded in 2003 as a nonpartisan institute devoted to education and research concerning public policy and civic engagement. Baker received the university’s first honorary doctorate in spring 2005.

“Our country has lost a great statesman and a great Tennessean,” UT Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek said. “Senator Baker will live on in our hearts forever as a man who believed that government was to serve the people.”

Baker’s body will lie in state at the Baker Center at 1640 Cumberland Avenue in Knoxville, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, June 30. His funeral will be on Tuesday, July 1, at First Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Tennessee, where he was born. Huntsville is in Scott County, north of Oak Ridge and Anderson County.

Matt Murray, director of the Baker Center, said the senator’s work will continue to influence students and inspire aspiring public servants for generations to come. [Read more…]

Alexander aide accused in child porn case found dead in apparent suicide

Posted at 4:46 pm January 24, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The former chief of staff for Sen. Lamar Alexander who was arrested in December on child pornography charges was found dead in the basement of his parents’ home in Maryland on Thursday, apparently in a suicide.

Several media outlets, including the New York Times and Washington Post, have reported on the death of Ryan Loskarn, 35, who had been released to live with his parents after his Dec. 11 arrest.

Loskarn had been charged with possessing and distributing child pornography. [Read more…]

Ex-Alexander aide released into parents’ custody

Posted at 12:15 pm December 18, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Information from WYSH Radio

The fired, now former chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander has been released from jail, pending his trial on child pornography charges.

On Monday, a federal judge allowed Ryan Loskarn, 35, to be released and live with his parents in Maryland while he’s awaiting trial on charges of possessing and attempting to distribute child pornography. In appealing for his release, Loskarn’s lawyers argued that he had no prior convictions or arrests. The judge ruled that Loskarn must stay inside his parents’ home and be electronically monitored. Additionally, he is prohibited from having any access to the Internet. [Read more…]

Alexander replaces chief of staff after child porn raid at former aide’s home

Posted at 5:34 pm December 11, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Lamar Alexander

The former chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander has been taken off the payroll following a child pornography raid at the former aide’s home, and the Republican senator from Tennessee has already named a new chief of staff.

David Cleary, who has worked for Alexander for eight years, is the new chief of staff, Alexander said in a Wednesday evening press release. The senator said Cleary is well-prepared for the position.

Earlier Wednesday, Alexander said the Senate legal counsel’s office told him that law enforcement agents were searching the home of Ryan Loskarn, 35, who had been the senator’s chief of staff in his Washington, D.C., office. The search was related to child pornography allegations, Alexander said.

“I am stunned, surprised, and disappointed by what I have learned,” the senator said. [Read more…]

Sen. Alexander’s chief of staff placed on leave during child pornography investigation

Posted at 12:03 pm December 11, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Note: This story was last updated at 12:52 p.m.

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander on Wednesday said his chief of staff in Washington, D.C., has been placed on leave as law enforcement agents search the man’s home to investigate child pornography allegations.

“I was just informed by the United States Senate legal counsel’s office that law enforcement agents are conducting a search of the personal residence of Ryan Loskarn, the chief of staff of my Washington, D.C., office, regarding allegations involving child pornography,” Alexander said in a Wednesday morning statement. “I am stunned, surprised, and disappointed by what I have learned. Based on this information, I immediately placed Mr. Loskarn on administrative leave without pay. The office is fully cooperating with the investigation.”

U.S. Postal Inspectors conducted the raid of Loskarn’s home, according to NBC News.

“The Postal Inspectors Service was involved in a law enforcement action in Southeast D.C.,” a spokesman for the agency told NBC News, declining further comment.

Loskarn is a longtime Alexander aide and was named the Tennessee Republican senator’s chief of staff in 2012, according to Politico. [Read more…]

Remembering Howard H. Baker Jr., former U.S. senator, Reagan chief of staff

Alexander aide accused in child porn case found dead in apparent suicide

Ex-Alexander aide released into parents’ custody

Alexander replaces chief of staff after child porn raid at former aide’s home

Sen. Alexander’s chief of staff placed on leave during child pornography investigation

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