Best Chicago Criminal Defense Lawyer Michael Leonard appears on WGN News Channel 9. Mike Leonard appeared on WGN TV News Channel 9 on January 21, 2025 to discuss President Trump’s decision to pardon virtually of the January 6 defendants, and to commute the sentences of the remaining January 6 defendants. Mike discussed those decisions, and the impact that action had on one of his own clients with WGN TV 9 reporter Courteny Spinelli.

You can listen to this WGN Channel 9 news story on YouTube at the following link, or by going to WGN News 9’s own website.

Because of Mike’s representation of one of the January 6 defendants, he possesses particular insight. Mike represented one January 6 defendant who resides in the Chicago area. That client was ultimately sentenced to 18 months in federal prison, after entering a plea of guilty and a lengthy sentencing hearing in Federal District Court in Washington D.C. However, that individual would likely not have received a BOP prison sentence but for the fact that the Federal District Court Judge was perhaps the harshest sentencing Judge assigned to the January 6 cases.

Mike’s client was released almost immediately after President Trump’s Order pardoning the January 6 defendants. He was notified at approximately 6:00 p.m. Subsequently, at approximately 2:30 a.m., that individual, along with a half dozen or more other January 6 defendants, were bused to Chicago. That individual then re-joined his family at approximately 5:30 a.m.

Clearly, there will be much discussion about, and pushback to, the pardoning of all of the January 6 defendants. Such a blanket pardon is impossible to square with the conduct of many of the January 6 defendants who either pre-planned to travel to the nation’s Capital to commit crimes, and/or committed serious physical harm to members of law enforcement who valiantly attempted to defend the Capitol that day.

Matthew Chivari 

 Leonard Trial Lawyers

 January 26, 2025