2 Springs men get presidential pardons

Two Colorado Springs men received presidential pardons Tuesday after being convicted of violating the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act in 1994, White House officials said.

The White House announcement, however, did not explain why President Bush pardoned Jerry Lynn Moldenhauer and Thomas Donald Moldenhauer for "knowingly selling migratory bird parts." They each received three years probation and a $1,000 fine.

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act prohibits the possession or sale of migratory birds, dead or alive, as well as their feathers, eggs or nests.

Court records for the 1994 cases couldn't be located through online databases. Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver, confirmed the case was prosecuted in 1994 but declined to comment further.

The Moldenhauers did not return messages left by The Gazette on Tuesday evening.

Bush approved pardons for 15 people Tuesday and also commuted one person's sentence. Offenses for those pardoned range from bank embezzlement to assault to violating fish and wildlife laws.

Bush has pardoned 157 people during his two terms, about half as many as Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan.

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino, in a Tuesday-afternoon media briefing in Washington, said the pardon recommendations came to the president from the U.S. Office of the Pardon Attorney, which is part of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Perino didn't detail why Bush chose these people to pardon.

"I don't believe he personally knows any one of them," Perino said.