President Donald Trump has granted a full pardon to former Rep. Stephen Buyer (R-IN), who served nearly two years in federal prison after being convicted of insider trading related to stock transactions he made following his departure from Congress.
The White House announced the pardon late Friday, releasing a document signed by Trump that described Buyer’s military and public service record as “distinguished and highly productive.”
The pardon erases the legal consequences of the conviction but does not remove the conviction from the historical record.
Buyer, 67, was sentenced in 2023 to 22 months in prison after a federal jury found him guilty of making stock trades using confidential information he obtained while working as a consultant and lobbyist. Prosecutors alleged that Buyer improperly profited from nonpublic information involving major corporate transactions.
The former lawmaker was ordered to forfeit more than $350,000 in gains linked to the trades and pay a $10,000 fine. He was released from prison in 2025 after serving most of his sentence.
In a statement following the pardon, Buyer maintained his innocence and said the clemency action corrected what he described as a politically motivated prosecution.
“It was horrific to be imprisoned for a crime that I did not commit,” Buyer said, adding that he believed the legal case against him was unjust.
The pardon comes just weeks after the Supreme Court declined to hear Buyer’s appeal. The court rejected the request in May without comment and without any noted dissents from the justices.
Buyer served in the House of Representatives from 1993 until 2011. During his congressional career, he became known for his work on veterans’ issues and military affairs. He also served as a judge advocate general officer in the U.S. Army and was a veteran of the Gulf War.
After leaving Congress, Buyer worked as a consultant and lobbyist. Federal prosecutors later accused him of using confidential information obtained through professional relationships to trade stocks before public announcements of major business deals.
Among the transactions cited during the trial were trades involving the merger between Sprint and T-Mobile, valued at approximately $26.5 billion, and stock purchases tied to consulting firm Navigant before its acquisition by Guidehouse became public.
Trump publicly signaled support for Buyer’s pardon request in recent days. On May 31, the president shared letters on Truth Social urging him to grant clemency, per the Associated Press (AP).
One letter, signed by more than 40 former Republican members of Congress, argued that Buyer had been unfairly targeted and compared his legal troubles to what they described as politically motivated prosecutions.
A second letter was signed by five current House Republicans, including Reps. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, Ken Calvert of California, Marlin Stutzman of Indiana, Jack Bergman of Michigan and Pete Sessions of Texas. The lawmakers urged Trump to intervene, arguing that Buyer deserved relief.
The Constitution grants presidents broad authority to issue pardons for federal crimes. Presidents of both parties have used that power to overturn convictions, reduce sentences or offer clemency in cases they believe warrant mercy or correction.
Buyer’s pardon marks the latest in a series of high-profile clemency actions issued by Trump during his second term in office.
