Donald Trump has given a complete and unconditional pardon to Stephen Buyer, a former Republican congressman from Indiana. Buyer spent almost two years in prison for making illegal stock trades based on inside information after leaving office.
He was sentenced to 22 months in prison in 2023 for trades he made while working as a consultant and lobbyist.
He was also ordered to give up over $350,000, which was the amount he illegally gained, and pay a $10,000 fine. He was released from prison in 2025.
The Supreme Court rejected Buyer’s appeal in May without making any comments or noting any disagreements.
In his pardon, Trump praised Buyer’s work as a judge advocate general in the Army and in the House, calling it “distinguished and highly productive.”
The pardon was given on Thursday and officially announced by the White House on Friday.
Buyer said the pardon “corrects a politically motivated prosecution” and that it was “horrific to be imprisoned for a crime that I did not commit.”
He says he is innocent.
On May 31, Trump shared two letters on his Truth Social media platform asking for a pardon for Buyer.
Buyer is a lawyer and Gulf War veteran who left office in 2011. He worked as a House prosecutor during the 1998 impeachment trial of Democratic President Bill Clinton and was part of Trump’s transition team in 2016, focusing on veterans’ issues.
One letter, signed by more than 40 former Republicans in Congress, claimed Buyer was “targeted by the deep state” because of his role in Clinton’s trial.
The letter, written in April 2025, said, “Like you, Mr. President, Steve has been the victim of lawfare conducted by the Biden Administration.”
Another letter, from five current House Republicans, said pardoning Buyer would bring justice to his case.
This letter, signed in June 2025, was signed by Tom Cole from Oklahoma, Ken Calvert from California, Marlin Stutzman from Indiana, Jack Bergman from Michigan, and Pete Sessions from Texas.
Buyer, who is 67 years old, was convicted in connection with insider trading related to the $26.5 billion merger between T-Mobile and Sprint, announced in April 2018.
He was also involved in illegal trades with the management consulting company Navigant when his client Guidehouse was set to acquire it in a deal that was publicly announced weeks later.
The U.S. Constitution gives the president the power to pardon someone for a federal crime.
A pardon does not remove a person’s criminal record, but it can be seen as an act of mercy or justice.
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