Trump pardons ex-GOP Congressman Stephen Buyer, convicted in insider trading scheme

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump has granted a full pardon to former US Representative Stephen Buyer, an Indiana Republican who was convicted of insider trading and securities fraud in connection with stock purchases made ahead of major corporate mergers.

The pardon was issued on Thursday, June 4, and announced by the White House on Friday, June 5. Buyer had been serving a 22-month prison sentence after a federal jury found him guilty in 2023. The move comes weeks after the US Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal.

White House cites public service and lawmaker support

In the pardon proclamation, the White House did not provide a detailed legal rationale for overturning Buyer’s conviction. Instead, the document highlighted his military and congressional service, stating that his work as a US Army judge advocate general and member of Congress “was distinguished and highly productive.”

The proclamation also said Trump acted on the “advice and recommendation” of 52 current and former members of the US Senate and House of Representatives whose names were listed in the document.

Buyer represented Indiana in the House of Representatives from 1993 to 2011. During his congressional career, he was among the House managers involved in the 1999 impeachment trial of then-President Bill Clinton. Following his departure from Congress, Buyer worked as a consultant in the private sector.

In a statement released after the pardon, Buyer maintained that he had been wrongly prosecuted. “It was horrific to be imprisoned for a crime I did not commit,” Buyer said. “I have maintained my innocence and was wrongfully convicted in New York before an all-Democrat jury. I was, in effect, a political prisoner. This pardon corrects a politically motivated prosecution.”

Conviction stemmed from merger-related stock trades

Federal prosecutors alleged that Buyer used confidential information obtained through consulting work to make profitable stock trades ahead of significant corporate transactions.

According to evidence presented at trial, Buyer purchased Sprint shares after learning from a T-Mobile executive that the telecommunications companies were engaged in merger discussions involving a deal ultimately valued at approximately $23 billion. Court records showed that Buyer earned more than $100,000 from the Sprint-related trades and more than $200,000 from the Navigant investment. 

A federal jury convicted Buyer in March 2023 on four counts of securities fraud. He was sentenced later that year to 22 months in prison. Prosecutors had sought a three-year sentence, arguing that Buyer abused the trust of clients and provided false testimony during trial.

Buyer testified in his own defense and denied trading on insider information. The US Supreme Court declined in May to review the case, leaving the conviction intact until Trump’s pardon erased the federal penalties associated with it.

The pardon adds Buyer to a growing list of former public officials and business figures who have received clemency during Trump’s second term, including several individuals convicted of white-collar crimes.