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He was found guilty at trial, sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman on September 19, 2023, after which U.S. Attorney Damian Williams declared: "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." Yahoo!

Buyer served 22 months and was released in February 2025. He had already completed his sentence when Trump signed the pardon proclamation. So, this isn't about compassionate release. This is about something else entirely — the erasure of the record itself. 

THE ARGUMENT FOR THE PARDON

To be fair, and the USA Herald is always fair, supporters of the pardon make substantive arguments that deserve to be heard.

Advocates claim prosecutors relied on circumstantial evidence and that Buyer was convicted by what they characterized as a Democrat jury and judge. Pardon supporters argued the SEC and DOJ were "weaponized against Congressman Buyer as political retribution" and that he was "prosecuted in criminal and civil courts without any direct evidence by testimony or document." 

The proclamation itself highlights Buyer's decorated military career — his service as a Judge Advocate General in the United States Army, his 18 years representing Indiana in the House, his role on the Veterans Affairs Committee, and his participation in the impeachment of President Bill Clinton in the 1990s.

These are real accomplishments. The question is whether they constitute a legal or moral basis to nullify a jury verdict?

Whether that is justice restored or justice reversed depends on who you ask.

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