Former President Donald Trump has granted a pardon to Stephen Buyer, a former U.S. Representative from Indiana, who was convicted of securities fraud related to insider trading activities in 2018. Buyer, a Republican, engaged in these activities while working as a consultant for T-Mobile US during its $23 billion merger with Sprint.
The pardon was officially issued on Thursday and publicized by the White House the following day. The announcement did not provide detailed reasons for the decision, only highlighting Buyer’s notable service as a U.S. Army judge advocate general and a member of Congress, describing his contributions as “distinguished and highly productive.”
The statement also mentioned that Trump’s decision to grant Buyer a “full, complete and unconditional pardon” was influenced by the “advice and recommendation” of 52 current and former members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, who were listed in the pardon proclamation.
Buyer, who represented Indiana as a Republican in the House from 1993 to 2011, transitioned into a career as a corporate consultant thereafter. In March 2023, he was found guilty on four counts of securities fraud and was subsequently sentenced to 22 months in prison in September of that year.
During the trial, prosecutors revealed that Buyer purchased Sprint stock after obtaining confidential information from a T-Mobile executive about merger discussions in 2018. He was also accused of making additional illegal trades the following year.
Prosecutors indicated that Buyer profited over $100,000 from his transactions involving Sprint stock. Additionally, he made more than $200,000 through buying shares in Navigant Consulting Inc. prior to its acquisition by Guidehouse in 2019.
Buyer, who had served as one of the House managers in the 1999 impeachment trial of then-President Bill Clinton, took the stand at his own trial and denied trading on inside information.
Prosecutors sought three years in prison for Buyer in court filings, saying that he had abused his clients’ trust and lied on the stand.
The US Supreme Court refused in May of this year to hear Buyer’s appeal of his conviction.
