http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/polinaut/archive/2010/02/pawlenty_tees_o_1.shtml
Excerpt:
Pawlenty later decried government spending saying "It's like Tiger Woods' wife, we should take a nine iron to the back windshield of big government spending and smash it out." Listen
(Update: Anyone notice Pawlenty has adopted an unusual southern drawl over the past few months?)


http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/39296/tim-pawlentys-pardon-scandal-should-scare-gops-2012-hopefuls/
Excerpt:

Tim Pawlenty’s Pardon Scandal Should Scare GOP’s 2012 Hopefuls

By Andrew Belonsky Friday, December 03, 2010

Outgoing Minnesota Governor and potential 2012 presidential contender Tim Pawlenty learned a valuable lesson this week: past pardons can complicate future ambitions. Many of the GOP’s other famous names better pay attention, because they may very well face a similar situation.

Pawlenty came under fire this week for the 2008 pardon of a man named Jeremy Geifer, who in 1993 spent 45 days in jail and registered as a sex offender for impregnating his 14-year-old girlfriend when he was 19.
Though over a decade had passed, Geifer’s conviction continued to haunt him, and he applied for the pardon so that the aforementioned girlfriend, whom he married and helped raise their baby, a daughter, could open a childcare center.
It certainly must have seemed like a logical pardon for Pawlenty at the time: The man seemed to have turned his life around and hadn’t been in trouble with the law in the 15 years since his release. Why not give him and his family a second chance?
Well, that decision’s bitten Pawlenty back, because Geifer’s daughter, the one whose conception sparked the original conviction, accused Geifer last month of raping her before, during and after Pawlenty and his peers pardoned the ex-con.
Criticized for his role in the pardon, Pawlenty this week was forced to insist he’s “heartsick” over the “sickening” new allegations. The Governor also pointed out that Geifer the ex-con had already been released from jail when his record was expunged.

http://www.bluestemprairie.com/bluestemprairie/2010/12/index.html
Excerpt:

Dec 30, 2010

Pawlenty pardon update: Judge Walker adds conditions, raises bail for Jeremy Giefer

Yesterday, I posted about media reports about a bail hearing for Jeremy Giefer, adding my own experience in overhearing Giefer's relatives talk about contacting his victim. Tonight, KEYC-TV reports in Bail Raised in Jeremy Giefer Sex Abuse Case:

http://mankatofreepress.com/local/x413850501/Prosecutor-Giefer-again-violated-no-contact-order
Excerpt:
December 29, 2010

Prosecutor: Giefer again violated no-contact order

Says sex-abuse suspect tried to send message to alleged victim

By Dan Nienaber Free Press Staff Writer The Mankato Free Press Wed Dec 29, 2010, 11:21 PM CST

MANKATO — Apparently it can be a crime to say “I love you,” and those words are the latest twist in a criminal sexual conduct case that has garnered statewide attention each time Jeremy Allen Giefer appears in court.

Giefer, 37, is accused of sexually assaulting a girl more than 250 times over several years. His case became statewide news after it was learned that Giefer had been pardoned in 2008 for a 1994 criminal sexual conduct conviction.

http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/TheSocialNetworkCampaign/2011/04/17/id/393159
Excerpt:

Pawlenty, Romney 2012 Candidates 'Friend' Social Media

Sunday, 17 Apr 2011 09:35 PM

More ways to share

NEW YORK — Republican Tim Pawlenty disclosed his 2012 presidential aspirations on Facebook. Rival Mitt Romney did it with a tweet. President Barack Obama kicked off his re-election bid with a digital video emailed to the 13 million online backers who helped power his historic campaign in 2008.

http://www.lawandpolitics.com/minnesota/The-Death-of-Rider-Bennett/ccf56d29-aaea-43b4-a02f-dd341ccd005f.html

http://www.minnesota-litigator.com/2011/01/rucker-v-schmidt-rider-bennett-does-the-law-allow-for-ruckerfraud-the-sequel.html
Excerpt:

Rucker v. Schmidt, Rider Bennett: Does the Law Allow for Ruckerfraud, The Sequel?

By Seth Leventhal

Update:  In an opinion authored by Justice Alan C. Page (and a concurrence by Justice Christopher J. Dietzen), the Minnesota Supreme Court affirms the Court of Appeals in favor of the plaintiff in this fraud case against the now defunct firm of Rider Bennett and attorney Stephen Schmidt.

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/mn-supreme-court/1551603.html