Jeremy Giefer's sexual assault charges were dropped today

​Sexual assault charges against Jeremy Giefer were dropped this morning following the victim's recantation.

Giefer was scheduled to go on trial next Monday on charges he raped his daughter multiple times over the years.

Assistant Blue Earth County Attorney Mike Hanson tells City Pages that the victim has recanted twice in the past two weeks. Last Friday, Hanson brought her into his office to hear what she had to say.

"She said none of the allegations were true," Hanson said.

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Tim Pawlenty: So obscure, it's not even funny.

​Hey everybody, check it out: Tim Pawlenty came in first place at something.

Our former governor took the number-one spot in GQ's list of the top 25 least influential people on planet earth, right up there with Hank Williams Jr., MSNBC's Ed Schultz, and our own Marcus Bachmann.

The writers at GQ had some pretty harsh words for Pawlenty and his failed presidential aspirations. According to the article, Pawlenty's campaign was so pointless, he didn't even register in the ridiculous-but-hilarious "Sharpton Sector" of candidates. From GQ:

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Tim Pawlenty, Nick Ayers: Debtor, creditor.

​Tim Pawlenty's campaign ended more than two months ago, coming to an abrupt stop that was like when a party host throws on the lights at midnight and says, "Party's over, everybody out!"

Now that we all had our fun at his expense, Pawlenty is stuck with the bill. And it looks like he's just a bit short. Okay, he's way short.

Pawlenty for President has outstanding debts of about $454,000, according to reports filed with the FEC. In the liquid world of presidential campaign finance, 454 large isn't a daunting number. But when your campaign is over, and you're not actively going after donations anymore -- well, it's hard to imagine where exactly T-Paw's going to get the  money. Maybe we could pass around a hat?

Among the people who are waiting with their hand out is everyone's least favorite campaign staffer, James "Nick" Ayers, who apparently ran up quite a tab on his travel expenses.
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What, Tim, was it something we wrote?

​Tim Pawlenty marked his glorious return to Minnesota with an appearance to the Minnesota Public Radio , where he sat in for a full show with the state's most lovable voice, Gary Eichten.

During yesterday's broadcast, Pawlenty opened up about his failed presidential campaign, the current state of politics in America, his endorsement of Mitt Romney, and... City Pages?

Yes, City Pages. It turns out that over the years, Pawlenty has been keeping up with this news outlet, and all of the wonderful things it's written about him.

In an exchange about Pawlenty's image and behavior, Eichten quoted a couple lines from City Pages that accused T-Paw of being a bit too starched around the collar during his three-month presidential campaign. The piece in question was flattering to the former governor, especially when compared to other words that have appeared in this space.

"That," Pawlenty told Eichten, "may be the first nice thing anybody at City Pages ever said about me."
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Tim Pawlenty's portrait is more interesting than Tim Pawlenty.

​Tim Pawlenty's portrait will not hang in the White House unless he staples it to the wall during a civilian tour.

But now the beloved former governor will forever haunt the hallway of the state Capitol, thanks to the unveiling of Pawlenty's official portrait this morning.

Pawlenty's visage, as rendered by Rossin, the de rigeur portraitist among conservative politicians, is an interesting departure from previous official portraits.

Unlike the preposterously cheesy official image of Jesse Ventura, or the charming if sophomoric depiction of Arne Carlson, Pawlenty's portrait is stark and arresting. Seen at the foot of the state Capitol, Pawlenty stands and looks right back at the viewer with an interesting expression on his face.

He looks like a man who is smiling through pain.
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Tim Pawlenty, Roger Ailes: Not seeing eye to... jowls.

​Tim Pawlenty wanted to be the latest in a slew of former, current, and future Republican presidential candidates to join the crew as an analyst at Fox News.

But there was a complication. Pawlenty had already decided to throw his support behind Mitt Romney, the only centrist Republican who actually has a shot at winning the Republican nomination. And that didn't sit right with Fox News head Roger Ailes, according to the Daily Beast.

Ailes, it seems, is picking his favorites and using airtime and interviews to push his favorite candidate.

According to one analysis, it's not Romney, who's getting support from both of Minnesota's recently successful Republicans: Pawlenty and Norm Coleman. And it's definitely not Michele Bachmann, once the darling of Fox News, but has since become an target for dismissal.
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Tim Pawlenty endorsed Mitt Romney, thus guaranteeing... probably nothing.

​Tim Pawlenty waited only a month after dropping out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination before endorsing another candidate.

This morning, Pawlenty made his announcement on Fox News, choosing to throw his support behind his fellow Minnesotan, Congresswoman... wait, it's not Michele Bachmann? Whoa, it's not!

On a surprise appearance on""Fox & Friends," Pawlenty revealed that he'd be supporting Mitt Romney, and not his in-state rival. In fact, as has happened too often in the last couple of weeks, Bachmann's name didn't even come up. Pawlenty gave a ringing endorsement to Romney, saying he was the right candidate to turn around the American economy.

"I believe he's going to be our party's nominee," Pawlenty said, "and I believe he's going to be a transformational and great president for this country."
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Tim Pawlenty, Stephen Colbert: A comedy duo?

​Three weeks after pulling out of his presidential campaign, Tim Pawlenty made a triumphant return to the national stage.

Fox News, you presume? Hardly.

In a bold move, Pawlenty sat down with Stephen Colbert last night, joining the man who'd so artfully and devastatingly ridiculed his short-lived campaign on "The Colbert Report."

The decision to come on Colbert's show implied a certain readiness to laugh at himself, and Pawlenty lived up to it right away. Pointing at his screaming crowd, Colbert asked, "Did you get that kind of reception in Iowa?"

"No," Pawlenty deadpanned.
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Tim Pawlenty: Sad, but rich.

​Anyone feeling bad for Tim Pawlenty in the days since he pulled out of the presidential race -- well, don't.

Pawlenty turned his bid for the Republican nomination into a pretty lucrative side gig for the first half of 2011, according to financial disclosure forms released yesterday. Along with his $121,000 salary as Governor of Minnesota, T-Paw reported almost $600,000 in post-governor compensation through June 9 of this year.

About $250,000 of that came from speaking engagements, but the majority came from Pawlenty's deal to write a book, "Courage to Stand." The book didn't exactly fly off the shelves, and Pawlenty's speeches, apparently, didn't ignite the national interest. No matter. Pawlenty got paid, and well, for a presidential campaign that lasted 84 glorious days.
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Jeremy Giefer was charged with 11 counts of sexual misconduct last year.

​It's shaping up to be a tense holiday season at the Giefer household this year.

Jeremy Giefer, the sex offender pardoned in 2008 by then-Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, will face a jury trial beginning December 19 for allegedly sexually assaulting his young daughter regularly for years.

At a pretrial hearing Monday, Mark Kelly, Giefer's attorney, disputed DNA evidence introduced by the prosecution, arguing that the samples don't match the victim.

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