President Donald Trump granted a full, complete, and unconditional pardon to former Republican Congressman Stephen Buyer from Indiana on June 4, 2026, the White House announced late Friday night [1, 2].
Buyer was convicted in 2023 of insider trading related to illegal stock trades made while serving as a consultant and lobbyist after leaving office in 2011. His crimes were tied to trades involving Sprint and Guidehouse prior to the $26.5 billion T-Mobile and Sprint merger deal [1, 2]. U.S. District Judge Richard Berman sentenced Buyer to 22 months in prison and ordered him to forfeit over $350,000 in illegal gains and pay a $10,000 fine [1, 2]. Buyer served nearly two years before being released in 2025 [1].
The Supreme Court denied Buyer’s appeal without comment in May 2026 [1]. Trump publicly posted letters on May 31 requesting Buyer’s pardon on his Truth Social platform [1]. The pardon was endorsed by more than 50 current and former Republican lawmakers, including Senators Lindsey Graham and Roger Wicker, according to the White House [2]. Officials described Buyer’s public service record as a “distinguished and highly productive career” and called the pardon “full, complete, and unconditional” [1].
Buyer was active as a House prosecutor during Bill Clinton’s 1998 impeachment trial and later served on Trump’s 2016 transition team [1, 2]. He maintains his innocence, calling his prosecution politically motivated. He said it was “horrific to be imprisoned for a crime that I did not commit” and argued the pardon “corrects a politically motivated prosecution” [1].
Buyer and his family faced financial hardship due to the case, including selling their home and his wife returning to work at age 65 [2].
The legal timeline began in 2018 when Buyer, acting as a T-Mobile consultant, engaged in insider trading related to the merger [1, 3]. His conviction and sentence followed in 2023, with the Supreme Court denying appeal in May 2026. Trump’s pardon on June 4 was announced publicly on June 5 [1, 3, 2].
