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Politics

Lamar Alexander’s Former Chief of Staff Commits Suicide

Jesse Ryan Loskarn, a former chief of staff to Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), was found dead Thursday in Carroll County, Md., following charges that he possessed and distributed child pornography. The Maryland medical examiner’s office confirmed Friday afternoon that the cause of death was suicide.

“At approximately 12pm yesterday, Carroll County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a private residence … for a report of an unconscious male, believed to be deceased,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement on Friday. “Family members reported finding 35-year old Jesse Ryan Loskarn unresponsive in his basement where he’d been residing with family since this past December.”

Bruce Goldfarb, a spokesman for the Maryland medical examiner’s office, told the Los Angeles Times that Loskarn had died by hanging himself.

Loskarn had been arrested in December by U.S. Postal Service investigators on charges that he possessed and distributed child pornography after a raid on his home.

As a grand jury began its proceedings, Loskarn was released from custody and was residing at his parents’ home in Maryland. He was ordered not to use the Internet and to wear an ankle bracelet to track his movements.

The complaint filed against him alleged that he possessed a hard drive filled with “hundreds of videos depicting underage boys engaged in sexually explicit conduct.”

Loskarn had served as Alexander’s chief of staff for two years. The senator said in a December news release that he was “stunned, surprised and disappointed” by the allegations. On Friday, Alexander said, “For everyone involved, this is a sad and tragic story from beginning to end.”

Loskarn’s parents, Chuck and Gay Loskarn, also released a statement Friday.

“We loved our son very much, and we’re devastated by his death,” they said. “Please respect our privacy at this difficult time and let us grieve in peace. Pray for him, his family and friends.”

Prior to joining Alexander’s office, Loskarn had served as communications director for Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) from 2003 to 2007. In a statement to HuffPost, Blackburn said, “We received the news with sadness and are keeping his family in our thoughts and prayers.”

This story has been updated with comments from the medical examiner’s office, Loskarn’s parents, and Rep. Marsha Blackburn.

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Politics

GOP Lamar Alexander’s Top Aide Arrested for Child Pornography

Just another case of Republican Family Values.

GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander’s chief of staff was arrested Wednesday afternoon on charges of possessing and distributing child pornography, the Justice Department said.
Jesse Ryan Loskarn — who goes by his middle name — is expected to be arraigned on Thursday morning in federal court.

“Jesse Ryan Loskarn, 35, of Washington, D.C., was arrested this afternoon by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service based on probable cause for possession and distribution of child pornography charges,” a Justice Department spokesman said in a statement. “He remains in custody pending a court hearing that is expected to be scheduled for tomorrow at the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C.”

Postal Service agents searched Loskarn’s home earlier in the day, and then took him into custody. Loskarn’s computer in Alexander’s office was also searched, with the senator’s permission, Senate sources said.
Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, subsequently removed Loskarn from his office’s payroll and promoted longtime aide David Cleary to the chief of staff job.

“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. Therefore, as of today, I have removed him from the payroll,” Alexander said Wednesday afternoon.

Loskarn was removed from his home in handcuffs by federal agents shortly before 1 p.m. on Wednesday and driven away in an unmarked car. Agents from the U.S. Postal Service were on the scene at Loskarn’s home in southeast Washington, D.C. in the Hill East neighborhood on a quiet, tree-lined block of rowhouses near the Stadium-Armory Metro station.

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Mitch McConnell Politics

Tail Wagging The Dog? The Tea Party Now Challenging The Republican Party

When the Tea Party was first formed and began holding marches with their lies, misrepresentation of the facts and misspelled words, many in the established Republican party kept their mouth shut and in some cases, took the sides of the Teaparty. They felt the Tea Partiers were only fighting the Democrats and in that case, all was well. Well that then. Today, these same members of the established Republican party are facing primary challenges from the Tea Party.

In Kentucky, Mitch McConnell, the party’s Senate leader, is fending off a charismatic and wealthy conservative challenger. In South Carolina, Lindsey Graham, one of the Senate’s most reliably conservative voices on foreign policy, is being painted by primary opponents as a veritable clone of President Obama.

In Tennessee, Tea Party activists have vowed to take out Lamar Alexander, the veteran senator, former cabinet officer and two-time presidential candidate. “Senator Alexander has never been a true conservative,” said Ben Cunningham, president of the Nashville Tea Party. “His support for the amnesty bill has caused great problems for us,” he said, referring to the Senate immigration bill. “He is at best a moderate.”

Tea Party candidates have also emerged in races against Democratic incumbents in Alaska — Joe Miller, who beat Senator Lisa Murkowski in her last primary, has resurfaced — Colorado, Louisiana and North Dakota, and for open seats in Georgia, Iowa and South Dakota. Democrats hope they can benefit from a divided Republican electorate.

The Republican incumbents and party officials say they have learned from the hard lessons of the past when Tea Party candidates from the right were ignored or dismissed, only to prevail in primaries and lose in general elections. They have plans to avoid becoming the next Richard G. Lugar or Robert Bennett, two senior senators who were stunned by losses before the general election.

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