Former U.S. Rep. Steve Buyer of Indiana went on trial Wednesday on insider trading charges, accused of illegally garnering stock windfalls by exploiting his consulting clients' corporate secrets years after he left Congress.
During his 1993-2011 tenure in Congress, the Republican lawyer and Persian Gulf War veteran chaired the House Veterans' Affairs committee for a time and served as one of the House prosecutors during former President Bill Clinton’s 1998 impeachment trial. Buyer (whose last name is pronounced BOO'-yuhr) was indicted last year over stock trades made after he became a consultant and lobbyist.
