This Week In Research: April 17 - 21

Highlights from the Week

1. This month, two sets of classified documents were leaked from the Department of Defense by a 21-year old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman named Jack Teixeira. The documents, which included classified information about the Ukraine war and other national security issues, showed up on social media first before investigators tracked the leaks back to a Discord server (Discord is a social media application mostly used by gaming enthusiasts). On April 13th, Teixeira was arrested by federal law enforcement. That same afternoon, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that he will be charged with violating the Espionage Act. This has led to members of Congress, in both chambers and of both parties, to demand investigations into why the leak occurred and what can be done to prevent it moving forward. To read a statement from House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul of Texas, click here. To read a statement from Senate Armed Services Chairman Jack Reed of Rhode Island, click here.

2. Last week, President Joe Biden visited the Republic of Ireland to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. This agreement, which was negotiated by then-U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair and Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern with the assistance of the United States, led by then-President Bill Clinton and former-Senator George Mitchell, ended the 30-year conflict in Northern Ireland between Irish Republican Nationalists and U.K. nationalists known as “The Troubles.” It was later ratified by Irish and Northern Irish voters, and ended direct rule of Northern Ireland by the United Kingdom. President Biden, who is Irish-American, spent the week in Ireland celebrating the agreement and affirming the relationship between the United States and Ireland. To read a statement from President Biden, click here. To read a statement from Congressman Dan Kildee of Michigan, click here. To read a statement from Senator Susan Collins of Maine, click here.

Elections

By the Elections Research team: Nick, Zachary, Seth, and Caleb, and Elections Interns Reid, Hunter, and George

Biographies:

Want to learn more about the candidates running for New Jersey’s State Legislature this year? You can see the full list here:

• New Jersey State Legislative Elections

Want to learn more about the leadership in each state legislature? You can see the full leadership rosters here:

• Legislative Leadership

Want to learn more about which committees elected officials are a part of? You can see the full list of committees for each state here:

• State Legislative Committees

• Florida State Legislative Committees

• Montana State Legislative Committees

• Pennsylvania State Legislative Committees

Want to learn more about some special elections happening in 2023? You can see the elections that have been held so far this year here:

• Wisconsin State Judicial Election

• Wisconsin State Senate Special Election

• Wisconsin Ballot Measures

Officials

By the Officials Research team: Noah, Johanan, Neal, Thomas, Israel, Quinn, and Jessica and Officials Interns: Caroline and Morgen

Public Statements: 73 statements were added this week. See highlights from the week for notable statements.

Key Votes:

• States: 32 new votes were added.

• Arkansas’ Senate passed SB 396, which requires age verification for use of social media; and to clarify liability for failure to perform age verification for use of social media and illegal retention of data.

• Arizona’s Senate passed SB 1106, a bill that establishes social media standards.

• Montana’s House passed HB 770, which generally revises regulations of electronic and social media regulation.

Special Interest Groups (SIGs)

• This year to date, the SIGs team has entered 9,030 ratings and 1,473 endorsements for candidates.