President Donald Trump pardoned former Indiana Republican Congressman Steve Buyer, who was convicted in 2023 of insider trading, on June 4.
Trump appeared to be hinting at a potential pardon in recent days, posting multiple letters from people seeking a pardon for Buyer on social media.
In one letter dated April 18, 2025, former Republican House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and dozens of other former lawmakers said Buyer was targeted during President Joe Biden‘s administration for his politically-charged work. They noted in particular Buyer’s service as a House impeachment manager against former President Bill Clinton in 1999.
“Like you, he has suffered the consequences of a politically weaponized federal and state judiciary,” they wrote.
Buyer was convicted by a federal jury in New York after testifying at a trial that lasted more than a week.
Prosecutors accused him of making about $350,000 off of trades based on insider information he gleaned through consulting work. In one trade, for instance, they said he bought shares of Sprint ahead of its 2018 merger with T-Mobile after confidentially learning the merger was coming.
The pardon won’t shorten the time behind bars for Buyer, who was released from prison in early 2025. However, it will free him from ongoing supervision as well as restore certain civil rights for him, such as the ability to hold federal office.
Supporters of Buyer, who has long maintained his innocence, may also hope the pardon gives him a reputational boost. Trump has remained bullish about using his presidential pardoning power during his second term.
Before Trump won the 2024 presidential election, he faced several criminal prosecutions, which he has described as “weaponization” and “lawfare.” Trump was convicted in one New York case, which he is appealing, but multiple other cases against him were dropped in response to his election victory.
On his 2025 swearing in day, Trump kept a campaign promise and pardoned over 1,500 people for crimes linked to the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol building. He issued clemency for famed defendants such as former U.S. Rep. George Santos, former Trump attorney and New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley.
Trump also pardoned rapper NBA YoungBoy, Chicago gang leader Larry Hoover, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, Rep. Henry Cuellar, a moderate Texas Democrat who he later criticized over “loyalty” for declining to switch parties, and former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez. Trump was famously lobbied by media mogul Kim Kardashian, one of the world’s most famous women, to grant clemency for 63-year-old grandmother Alice Marie Johnson who served two decades in federal prison. Johnson, now 71, is Trump’s second term pardon czar.
Contributing: Kinsey Crowley
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