Indiana Republican ex-congressman appeals insider trading conviction in NYC court
Former Indiana Congressman Stephen Buyer is fighting back against his insider trading conviction in a NYC appeals court. He claims that FBI testimony that played a big role in his trial should have been excluded. Buyer was convicted on four counts of securities fraud for making around $350,000 in illegal stock trades while working as a consultant and lobbyist after leaving office. These trades were based on inside information that he allegedly obtained.
During the hearing, Buyer’s attorney argued that a forensic examiner’s testimony, Jessica Volchko, who had nothing to do with creating the report on Christopher Stansbury’s cellphone, should not have been allowed. Buyer’s team claimed this violated his Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses. However, it was debated whether machine-generated statements in the report were testimonial in nature.
On the venue for the case, Buyer believes it should have been held in New Jersey where the trades were executed, while the government argued that trading records and the New York Stock Exchange’s headquarters being in Manhattan justified the venue. The panel of judges presiding over the hearing included U.S. Circuit Judges Guido Calabresi, Dennis Jacobs, and Debra Livingston.
Buyer’s battle against his conviction is ongoing, and further developments are yet to come.
