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Trump pardons Stephen Buyer
President Donald Trump issued a full pardon to Stephen Buyer, a former Indiana Republican congressman convicted of insider trading in 2023 after prosecutors said he made illegal trades based on inside information.
“Trump pardons former Republican Rep”
The White House proclamation dated June 4 said Buyer would receive a “full, complete, and unconditional pardon,” and it was released by the White House late Friday.
Buyer was sentenced to 22 months in prison in 2023, ordered to forfeit more than $350,000 and pay a $10,000 fine, and he was released in 2025.
Trump cited Buyer’s career as a judge advocate general in the U.S. Army and as a member of Congress, calling his service “distinguished and highly productive,” while Buyer said the pardon “corrects a politically motivated prosecution.”
Letters, endorsements, and lawfare
Trump shared letters on Truth Social on May 31 requesting clemency for Buyer, including an April 2025 letter signed by more than 40 former Republicans in Congress.
In that April 2025 letter, the signatories wrote, “Like you, Mr. President, Steve has been the victim of lawfare conducted by the Biden Administration,” and they said Buyer was “targeted by the deep state.”
A second letter from five current House Republicans—Tom Cole of Oklahoma, Ken Calvert of California, Marlin Stutzman of Indiana, Jack Bergman of Michigan and Pete Sessions of Texas—argued that pardoning Buyer would bring justice to his case.
The Guardian also reported that Trump’s pardon was supported by more than 50 current and former lawmakers, and it quoted Buyer saying he was “horrific to be imprisoned for a crime that I did not commit.”
What the pardon changes
The pardon came after the Supreme Court in May rejected Buyer’s appeal without comment or noted dissent, and it followed Buyer’s conviction tied to insider trading involving the $26.5 billion merger of T-Mobile and Sprint announced in April 2018.
“The White House announced President Donald Trump on Thursday exercised his authority under Article II, Section 2 of the U”
The Guardian said the pardon “does not erase a recipient’s criminal record but can be seen as an act of mercy or justice,” while the Detroit News reported that the pardon “will free him from ongoing supervision as well as restore certain civil rights.”
Prosecutors accused Buyer of making nearly $350,000 based on information he gleaned through consulting work, including trades involving Sprint ahead of its 2018 merger with T-Mobile.
The Hill reported that the June 4 proclamation stated Trump was acting on the “advice and recommendation” of more than 50 current and former senators and representatives, including GOP Sens. Roger Wicker and Lindsey Graham, as the pardon took effect.
