Tom Hanson, the former top budget official for Gov. Tim Pawlenty, has come to his boss' rescue. A week ago, Pawlenty defended a passage in his new book, "Courage to Stand", in which he said an unnamed DFL legislator called his staff within the "very first hour" following the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in 2007 to tell the governor "he was going to use this tragedy politically to carve me up." The former Republican governor, who is now considering a presidential bid, said he would not identify the legislator by name because "I think it's an awful thing to do", but described the call as "one of the most disgusting examples of low politicking I've seen in my entire career." Since then, several leading DFL legislators who were critics of the governor denied making the call, and at least one said he doubted the episode ever took place. Hanson, who was a key member of Pawlenty's administration, said that while he was not the person called by the DFLer he remembered the episode. "It's a true story," Hanson said. "I heard about it from the person who took the call" in the governor's office, Hanson said. "I remember hearing firsthand the story, and who it was. And I'm going to respect the governor's wishes and not reveal who it is. "It is not the kind of thing that you talk about," he added. "I won't reveal the name."