I would like to clarify a couples of things as someone who was raised in Brazil, has a decent understanding of Brazilian law and is still closely watching Brazil despite hating the place. Here are a few crucial information that are often omitted/ignored/unknown by the international media.
1 - There was no leak
The messages came from an elaborated hacker attack that successfully targeted a number of journalists, police officers, prosecutors, judges, members of the executive and even a few Supreme Court justices cellphones. The hackers were arrested and are facing charges. Hacking members of the executive is considered an attack on national security so they are fucked.
2 - It's against the law to use, profit, publish or reproduce anything that was illegally obtained.
And no, this doesn't exclude the media. Glenn was directly contacted by one of the hackers and was aware he would be publishing hacked information.
Glenn tried to colab with a few big name journalists before releasing the messages on his website. None, including the most important TV channel (mostly progressive btw) wanted any part of it because of legal implications.
3 - Judges and prosecutors are one the same side
This is a peculiar thing about the legal system in Brazil. The whole process that makes the trial court involves constant communication between judge and prosecution. This collaboration is fundamental, the State is represented by both the prosecutor and the judge and they work together and are literally side-by-side during the trial. The judge advise the prosecution on how to make the case stronger and is often deeply involved in the cases. That means the content of those messages published by The Intercept Brasil aren't against the rules. They are however not kosher as these communications should be official and never via Telegram. Their mistake was being way too informal but that's more a sign of our times than anything else.
4 - Glenn has a very limited understanding of Brazil
It's actually painful to witness how little he knows, specially regarding politics, laws and the judiciary system. He barely speaks the fucking language and he got himself in deep shit because he's talking about things he doesn't understand.
The following is my opinion so take it as you wish.
There's a famous saying in Brazil that goes like this "This country is not for amateurs". Meaning, if you're naive you're fucked. I don't doubt Glenn believes he's fighting the good fight. I don't doubt for a second he believes Lula is innocent as he claims. It's actually pretty obvious he thinks he's on the right side of history but I'm afraid he's being played like a fiddle. He's either too involved or too naive to see it. He is surrounded by hardcore cult like leftists that defend Lula like he's their god. Even his husband is like that so Glenn's involvement in this case is not a mere coincidence. He's the perfect guy for their dirty work. FFS the hacker only had Glenn's cellphone because the former VP candidate Manuela Davilla (Communist Party) gave it to him. This is a fact btw, there's evidence and admissions that it happened. Imagine Tim Kaine collaborating with the people that hacked FBI investigators, judges, supreme court justices, homeland security staff and so on. The unethical levels of Brazilian left is out of this world, they will do anything to return to power. Glenn is just a pawn, they don't give a shit about him.