President Donald Trump has granted a pardon to Stephen Buyer, a former Republican congressman from Indiana. Buyer had served nearly two years in prison for engaging in illegal stock trades using inside information after leaving office.
Buyer received a 22-month sentence in 2023 after being convicted for trades conducted during his time as a consultant and lobbyist. He was also ordered to forfeit over $350,000, equivalent to the illegal gains, and to pay a fine of $10,000. He was released from prison in 2025.
Trump granted Buyer “a full, complete, and unconditional pardon,” acknowledging Buyer’s service as a judge advocate general in the Army and his productive congressional career. The pardon was dated Thursday and announced by the White House on Friday.
Buyer claimed the pardon addressed what he described as a politically motivated prosecution, asserting his innocence. He stated that imprisonment for a crime he did not commit was horrific. Trump utilized his Truth Social media platform on May 31 to share letters requesting a pardon for Buyer, a lawyer and Gulf War veteran who left office in 2011.
Buyer participated in the impeachment trial of Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1998 and was part of Trump’s transition team in 2016, focusing on veterans’ issues. A letter signed by over 40 former Republican members of Congress asserted that Buyer was “targeted by the deep state” due to his role in Clinton’s trial. They stated, “Like you, Mr. President, Steve has been the victim of lawfare conducted by the Biden Administration,” in an April 2025 letter.
A June 2025 letter from five current House Republicans argued that pardoning Buyer would impart justice. The letter 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, aged 67, faced conviction linked to insider trading related to the $26.5 billion merger of T-Mobile and Sprint announced in April 2018. He was also involved in illegal trades concerning Navigant, a management consulting company, during its acquisition by Guidehouse, disclosed weeks later.
The U.S. Constitution endows the president with extensive authority to pardon federal offenses. While pardons do not eliminate a recipient’s criminal record, they are often perceived as acts of mercy or justice.