President Donald Trump has posted a letter on social media appealing for a pardon on behalf of former Indiana Republican congressman Steve Buyer, who was sentenced to 22 months in jail for insider trading in 2023. The letter to Trump, signed by five current members of Congress, is dated June 5, 2025, almost a year ago and several months after Buyer's release. The president uploaded it to Truth Social Sunday without any accompanying comment, raising speculation that he is considering granting the pardon.
The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment.
Background of the case
The letter's signatories point to their former colleague's military record and 18 years of service in the House of Representatives prior to his downfall, noting that he chaired the House Veterans Affairs Committee and played a role in the impeachment of former president Bill Clinton in the 1990s. They add that he was prosecuted "at the behest of the Department of Justice under President [Joe] Biden", that he served his sentence and was released in February 2025 and still maintains his innocence.
Buyer was originally indicted on four counts of securities fraud arising from his engagement with two insider trading schemes that saw him profit on privileged information by buying shares in companies – Sprint and Navigant Consulting – just before their takeovers were announced. He was found guilty at trial and sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard M Berman on September 19, 2023, after which U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said: "Stephen Buyer was convicted by a jury of twice engaging in insider trading. He abused positions of trust for illicit personal gain, and today he faced justice for those acts. No insider trader is above the law, and we will continue to bring those who undermine the fairness and integrity of our markets to justice."
Trump's own stock trades under scrutiny
Trump himself has recently been criticised over a flurry of first-quarter stock trades, worth at least $220 million, which included companies that are seemingly on the president's enemies list, including Netflix, JPMorgan Chase and Disney. His trades in those companies were valued at around $9 million, according to an analysis from Yahoo! Finance, which he made even while slamming those same businesses in public.
A spokesperson for the Trump Organization told The Independent: "President Trump's investment holdings are maintained exclusively in fully discretionary accounts managed by independent third-party financial institutions." They added that neither the president, nor his family or company, is involved in guiding the investments: "These institutions have sole and exclusive authority over all investment decisions, including asset allocation, trading, rebalancing, and portfolio management. This structure was intentionally designed to maintain a clear separation between President Trump and the independent third-party investment managers overseeing the accounts and avoid even the appearance of any conflict of interest."
The administration has meanwhile faced calls for an investigation into a number of well-timed trades that preceded significant policy announcements by Trump, including over the military actions against Venezuela and Iran, which suggested the investors could have had foreknowledge of what was coming.
