Stephen Buyer, a former Republican representative from Indiana, faced conviction after engaging in insider trading related to two business deals before they were publicly announced. President Trump pardoned him recently, effective June 4.
The pardon received support from notable Republicans, including Senators Roger Wicker and Lindsey Graham, and former House Speaker John Boehner. Mr. Buyer was sentenced in 2023 to serve 22 months following his conviction on four counts of securities fraud. These charges stemmed from stock trades made with confidential information provided by clients of his consultancy firm, established post-Congress in 2011.
A surge in pardons and commutations has marked Mr. Trump’s return to the White House, with numerous white-collar crime pardons supported by right-wing operatives petitioning for clemency. In his pardon proclamation, Mr. Trump highlighted Mr. Buyer’s noteworthy career in the Army as a Judge Advocate General and his productive tenure as a U.S. House Representative.
The S.E.C.’s complaint detailed that Mr. Buyer acquired Sprint securities worth $568,000 using insider knowledge from T-Mobile, leading to over $107,000 profit post-merger announcement. Similarly, in 2019, Mr. Buyer learned about the acquisition of Navigant by Guidehouse, another client, resulting in a profit exceeding $227,000 from the stock purchase.
Mr. Buyer’s attorney, Andrew Goldstein, maintained his client’s innocence when charges surfaced in 2022. Mr. Buyer, who entered Congress in 1992 and retired in 2010 due to his wife’s illness, faced demands to return trade profits with interest and a ban on serving corporate roles.
Concerns regarding insider trading among lawmakers, who access classified information and influence economic policies, have persisted. House Republicans introduced a bill to restrict stock trading by legislators and their families. However, Democrats criticized its loopholes.
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