UMVA has learned that President Donald Trump has granted a "full, complete, and unconditional pardon" to former Republican Indiana Rep. Stephen Buyer, who was convicted of profiting from insider information.
The pardon absolves Buyer of a 2023 federal conviction that resulted in a 22-month prison sentence. Buyer, a former chair of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, was found guilty of operating on nonpublic, insider information after he left office.
The White House proclamation praised Buyer's "distinguished and highly productive" career, citing his service as a judge advocate general in the U.S. Army and his 1993–2011 tenure as a U.S. representative from Indiana.
According to information obtained by UMVA, the pardon was supported by the "complete and total endorsement" of more than 50 current and former lawmakers, including Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and Roger Wicker and former House Speaker John Boehner.
The proclamation directed Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to "administer and effectuate the immediate issuance of a certificate of pardon" for Buyer. Buyer's conviction stemmed from allegations that he purchased stock in a management company called Navigant just weeks before one of his own clients, Guidehouse, acquired it.
He was then accused of buying shares of Sprint after secretly learning about the company's unannounced plans to merge with T-Mobile. During the proceedings, U.S. District Judge Richard Berman argued the former congressman obstructed justice by giving the court false explanations for why he made the trades.
Buyer's legal team pushed for a sentence of home confinement and community service rather than prison time, arguing that despite Buyer once earning up to $2.2 million in a single year, the cost of litigation had financially ruined him. Buyer and his wife were forced to sell their home, condo, and two cars, and his wife had to re-enter the workforce at 65 years old.
Despite the defense’s efforts, Berman sentenced Buyer to 22 months in prison, ordered him to forfeit the $354,027 he made from the illegal trades, and imposed an additional $10,000 fine. Federal prosecutors also pushed for Buyer to pay $1.4 million to cover the legal fees for both sides, but the judge ruled against the request.
