Saturday, June 6, 2026
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Former U.S. Rep. Stephen Buyer, left, trails his lawyer as he leaves Manhattan federal court after pleading not guilty to charges that he participated in an insider trading scheme while working as a consultant, July 27, 2022, in New York.
WASHINGTON —President Donald Trump has pardoned former Republican Congressman Stephen Buyer of Indiana who spent almost two years in prison after leaving office for conducting illicit stock trading using inside knowledge.
Buyer, who traded as a consultant and lobbyist, received a 22-month sentence in prison in 2023. He was also sentenced to surrender more than $350,000 — the proceeds of the criminal activity — and pay a fine of $10,000. He was released in 2025.”
In issuing “a full, complete and unconditional pardon,” Trump noted Buyer’s career as a judge advocate general in the Army and in the House that was “distinguished and highly productive.” The pardon was issued late Friday by the White House, with a date of Thursday.
Buyer said the pardon “corrects a politically motivated prosecution” and that it was “horrific to be jailed for a crime that I did not commit. He says he’s not guilty.
Trump posted two letters on his Truth Social social media site on May 31 demanding a presidential pardon for Buyer, a lawyer and Gulf War veteran who left office in 2011. He was a House prosecutor in the impeachment trial of Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1998 and was part of Trump’s transition team in 2016 dealing with veterans’ problems.
A statement signed by more than 40 former Republican members of Congress said Buyer was “targeted by the deep state” over his role in the Clinton trial.
"Like yourself, Mr. President, Steve has been the victim of lawfare waged by the Biden Administration," they said in the letter in April of 2025.
A second letter from five sitting House Republicans claimed pardoning Buyer would bring justice to his situation. The letter, dated June 2025, was signed by Tom Cole of Oklahoma, Ken Calvert of California, Marlin Stutzman of Indiana, Jack Bergman of Michigan and Pete Sessions of Texas.
Buyer, 67, was convicted on insider trading charges tied to the $26.5 billion merger of T-Mobile and Sprint, announced in April 2018, and illegal trades in the management consulting firm Navigant when his client Guidehouse was to buy it in a deal publicly announced weeks later.
The Constitution grants presidents considerable discretion to issue pardons for federal crimes. The pardons do not erase a recipient’s criminal record but might be viewed as either an act of kindness or justice.
