John Boehner, other GOPers ask Trump to pardon former congressman convicted of insider trading
by Kerry Picket · The Washington TimesPresident Trump is revisiting a letter from 47 Republican politicians asking him to grant a pardon to former Rep. Stephen E. Buyer.
Mr. Trump received the letter last year but posted it Sunday on Truth Social. He did not add a comment to the post.
Buyer, an Indiana Republican, was convicted in 2023 of insider trading.
In the April 18, 2025, letter, Buyer’s advocates, including former House Speakers John Boehner of Ohio and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas, said that “overzealous” federal prosecutors relied on circumstantial evidence and speculative claims, despite testimony that Buyer received no material nonpublic information. He was convicted by an all-Democrat Manhattan jury before a Clinton-appointed judge.
“Like you, he has suffered the consequences of a politically weaponized federal and state judiciary,” the former lawmakers wrote.
“Steve served his sentence. As you know, the Second Chance Act permits one to serve the last 10% of the sentence in home confinement; however, the morning after your second term election, the Biden DOJ Federal Bureau of Prisons manipulated the rules by canceling Steve’s 2.5 months of home confinement.”
The lawmakers said in the letter that Buyer is a victim of “lawfare” by the Biden administration.
Buyer was convicted in March 2023 on four felony counts of securities fraud stemming from two separate schemes: profiting from advance knowledge of the Sprint/T-Mobile merger in 2018, and trading ahead of the Navigant/Guidehouse acquisition in 2019.
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The presiding judge also found Buyer had obstructed justice by lying about his trades. He was sentenced to 22 months in prison, ordered to forfeit over $354,000 and fined $10,000.
The letter’s other signatories include Reps. Tom Cole of Oklahoma and Pete Sessions of Texas and former Reps. Jack Kingston of Georgia, Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska, Lamar Smith of Texas, Gresham Barrett of South Carolina, Bob Livingston of Louisiana, William Tiahrt of Kansas and Duncan Hunter of California.
They said Biden DOJ targeted Buyer in retaliation for his roles as a House impeachment manager against Bill Clinton, his pursuit of an indictment of Hillary Clinton and his work defending military voters during the 2000 Florida recount.
“The Clintons, the Bidens, their surrogates and Democrats in the deep state never forgot Steve’s contributions that were an affront to their beliefs and objectives,” they said. “They played the long game to seek political retribution against him.”
“The Biden administration violated sacred principles of our Constitution by abusing the power of the Justice Department to persecute our citizens and erode the trust of the American people. This conduct is an outrage that must be stopped.”
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The signers asked Mr.Trump to pardon Buyer’s criminal conviction and direct the DOJ to dismiss the related SEC civil case, citing Buyer’s loyalty — including his service on Trump’s 2016 Presidential Transition Team.
Buyer served in the House from 1993 until 2011. He also served in the Army from 1984 to 1987 and in the Army Reserve from 1980 to 2010, as legal counsel for the 22nd Theater Army during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
He attained the rank of colonel in the Army JAG Corps.
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Kerry Picket
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