Attorney General Dana Nessel, center, speaks to reporters at the G. Mennen Williams Building in Lansing, Mich., on May 15, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)
The former Michigan speaker of the House of Representatives, now a candidate for governor in 2026, said Tuesday that the federal government should investigate Attorney General Dana Nessel for the abuse of her office following a Lansing judge’s decision to dismiss charges against 15 individuals accused of conspiring to help President Donald Trump’s campaign overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Tom Leonard, who was Nessel’s opponent in the 2018 race that saw her elected to the post, joined several other Republicans across the state in cheering the decision issued today by Lansing 54-A District Judge Kristen Simmons.
The cacophony of celebration included two Republicans who were linked to the case by the special investigator in charge.
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Simmons, in a decision from the bench, concluded there wasn’t sufficient evidence to prove that the 15 individuals, charged with a host of forgery and conspiracy crimes, had criminal intent when they allegedly signed documents certifying Michigan’s electoral votes for Trump.
That led Simmons to dismiss the charges and she did not order the cadre to be bound over for trial.
During the course of the case, Simmons heard one of several preliminary examinations for the group in April 2024. It was then that Leonard and his wife, Jenell Leonard, who owns the Lansing-based Marketing Resource Group, were said to be among those whom Special Investigator Howard Shock identified as unindicted co-conspirators in the case. The list of unindicted co-conspirators included former Michigan Republican Party Chair Laura Cox and Republican strategist Stu Sandler.
Shock also confirmed President Donald Trump, as well as Trump lawyers Jenna Ellis and Rudy Giuliani; former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows; Chris Velasco, who worked with Trump’s campaign in Michigan; and Kenneth Chesebro, who pleaded guilty in Georgia for helping to organize the fake electors plot across seven states including Michigan, were among the list of unindicted co-conspirators
As Simmons dismissed the charges Tuesday, Leonard issued a statement slamming Nessel for pursuing the case.
“Today, justice finally prevailed. This confirms what Jenell and I have maintained from the very beginning; this case was without merit, politically motivated, and driven not by justice, but by an attorney general intent on scoring political points,” Leonard wrote.“The judge’s dismissal is a complete vindication, and I am grateful that our names, along with President Trump, have been cleared.”
Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Leonard speaks to a crowd of GOP party fixtures at a dinner honoring the late state Sen. George McManus at Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City, Mich. Aug. 8, 2025 | Photo by Ben Solis/Michigan Advance
He accused Nessel of repeatedly abusing her station, calling her “the most reckless attorney general in the country,” and asked for the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate her office.
Nessel’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Leonard’s call for a federal investigation.
The attorney general has been a frequent critic of Trump’s, and has pursued several cases tied to his false claim that he won the 2020 election, and his assertion that the election was stolen due to widespread voter fraud, despite a lack of evidence to support that claim.
The attorney general has also received criticism from Republicans for the more than 30 cases she has led or joined challenging the Trump administration over a host of federal actions from the president, including an attempt to pause federal funding to state governments.
Other GOP governor hopefuls weigh in
Leonard wasn’t the only Republican gubernatorial candidate to weigh in on the decision.
Former Attorney General Mike Cox called the case “another example of lawfare and the Fake-News media trying to destroy anyone that doesn’t agree with their opinions.”
“Good on Judge Simmons to stand up to the Democrat machine and demand due process,” Cox said in a post on social media.
Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt shared an image of a fake book that TV host Jimmy Kimmel joked about ghost-writing for the president during his 2016 campaign.
U.S. Rep. John James (R-Shelby Township) took his criticism further, accusing Michigan Democrats of eroding the judicial system and imperiling the republic.
“While Michigan’s affordability and education decline, they waste taxpayer funds for political vendettas, James said in a post on social media. “As governor, I will expose their misconduct and restore blind justice to our state.”
Nessel, however, raised similar concerns about Trump and his supporters during a virtual news conference held after the decision.
“For many when it is this President and this President’s followers, then there is no criminal activity, no action nefarious enough to warrant consequences of any kind, especially when it comes to rigging the system in Trump’s favor,” Nessel said. “We see it in the courts in real time today, as judges in Michigan and across the nation hem and haw over these election related cases, and it’s getting harder and harder to even get an election case across the finish line, let alone to get them in a timely decision where perhaps it would have made a difference.”
The attorney general raised further concerns about judges facing threats and fear of retaliation when handling cases related to the president.
Nessel also remained steadfast in her decision to bring charges against the 15 defendants.
“When I complete my time in this office, I will forever believe that issuing these charges and filing these cases was the righteous, proper, appropriate and legally compelled thing to do by my role as state attorney general, and I feel certain that history will vindicate that decision,” Nessel said.
