WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President Donald Trump has to , a former Republican congressman from Indiana who served nearly two years in prison for making based on inside information after he left office.
Buyer was sentenced to 22 months in prison in 2023 for . He was ordered to forfeit more than $350,000, representing the amount of the illegal gains, and pay a $10,000 fine. He was released in 2025.
The Supreme Court in May rejected Buyer’s appeal without comment or noted dissent.
In granting 鈥渁 full, complete, and unconditional pardon,鈥� Trump cited Buyer鈥檚 career as a judge advocate general in the Army and in the House that was 鈥渄istinguished and highly productive.鈥� The pardon was dated Thursday and released by the White House late Friday.
Buyer said the pardon 鈥渃orrects a politically motivated prosecution鈥� and that it was 鈥渉orrific to be imprisoned for a crime that I did not commit.鈥� He maintains that he is innocent.
Trump used his Truth Social media platform on May 31 to share a pair of letters requesting a presidential pardon for Buyer, a lawyer and Gulf War veteran who left office in 2011. He was a House prosecutor at Democratic President Bill Clinton鈥檚 1998 impeachment trial and in 2016 he served on Trump鈥檚 transition team focusing on veterans鈥� issues.
A letter signed by more than 40 former Republicans in Congress said Buyer was 鈥渢argeted by the deep state鈥� because of his involvement in Clinton鈥檚 trial.
鈥淟ike you, Mr. President, Steve has been the victim of lawfare conducted by the Biden Administration,鈥� they wrote in the April 2025 letter.
A second letter, from five current House Republicans, said pardoning Buyer would bring justice to his case. The June 2025 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, 67, was convicted in connection with insider trading involving the $26.5 billion merger of T-Mobile and Sprint, announced in April 2018, and illegal trades in the management consulting company Navigant when his client Guidehouse was set to acquire it in a deal publicly disclosed weeks later.
The Constitution gives a president broad power to grant pardons for federal crimes. The pardons do not erase a recipient鈥檚 criminal record but can be seen as act of mercy or justice.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
