It was teed-up as the downfall of Missouri’s Governor Eric Greitens. Instead, the case, built on a shaky foundation of he said/she said, may have just collapsed.

As you may be aware, Governor Greitens has been under fire for months, fending off allegations made following an admitted extramarital affair. Briefly:

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens admitted to an extramarital affair but defiantly refused to resign before the release of an investigative report by a House investigatory committee related to an extramarital affair he engaged in before his election. According to the report, the woman testified Greitens was physically aggressive during an unwanted sexual encounter and threatened to distribute a partially nude photo of her if she spoke about it.

The graphic report details multiple instances in which the woman said Greitens spanked, slapped, grabbed, shoved and called her derogatory names during a series of sexual encounters as he was preparing to run for office in 2015. The testimony contradicts Greitens’ previous assertions that “there was no violence” and “no threat of violence” in what he has described as a consensual extramarital affair.

The report, signed by all five Republicans and two Democrats on the committee, describes the woman’s testimony as credible and notes that Greitens has so far declined to testify or provide documents to the panel. It also outlines instances where the Republican governor’s public comments appear to run counter to some of her allegations.

Well, late yesterday afternoon, a wrench was lobbed into that wobbly narrative—you know, the one where the accuser says the incident might have been a “dream”—one that could derail the case. First, there was this revelation:

St. Louis prosecutors announced that they have dropped a felony charge against Missouri Gov. @EricGreitens. @MattFinnFNC has the details. #SpecialReport https://t.co/07HMZsDhgR pic.twitter.com/DrMnuSzNsi

— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 14, 2018

Preceded by this one:

Defense attorney for Missouri Gov. #EricGreitens: Prosecutors have stopped looking for photo of partially nude woman at the center of criminal case against Greitens. https://t.co/rQ82YMp1mJ

— AP Central U.S. (@APCentralRegion) May 14, 2018

Wait…PROSECUTORS CAN’T LOCATE THE PHOTO?! That would be the photo that’s the crucial piece of evidence in the violation-of-privacy charge.

And in case it couldn’t get weirder, this happened:

Prosecutor drops charge against Missouri Gov after judge rules she can be called as witness… https://t.co/yl7tViH0wi

— DRUDGE REPORT (@DRUDGE_REPORT) May 14, 2018

Well, there’s your Crazy Defense Tactic of the Year winner!

Prosecutor's statement on dismissal of #Greitens chargehttps://t.co/8v5rHIQW4T

— St. Louis Post-Dispatch (@stltoday) May 14, 2018

The criminal case against Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens has been dismissed This comes after St Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner was called on to testify about allegedly influencing witness testimony. #GreitensTrial @41actionnews pic.twitter.com/PXcom7xwC8

— Steven Dial (@StevenDialTV) May 15, 2018

Meanwhile, Greitens had this to say in response:

A full statement from Greitens' Facebook page, posted slightly before 6 p.m. pic.twitter.com/Az36JhZkzm

— STL Public Radio (@stlpublicradio) May 14, 2018

Yeah, ok. Typical politician speak. But without evidence to the contrary, I’ll have to take Greiten’s word for it.

Now before you jump to conclusions, I’m not defending Greiten’s behavior. He admitted he had an extramarital affair prior to becoming governor. And that’s reprehensible. Period. Full stop. And were I his wife, I’d scream, “Get out of my house, you miserable SOB!” But what I am saying is that he deserves fair treatment, just as any other American citizen should expect when accused of a potential crime. And that accusation must be proven, beyond a reasonable doubt, based on evidence presented to a jury. And the critical photo that could suggest solid proof of said accusation cannot be located. And yet the case was filed anyway. Apparently without evidence.

Consequently, Greitens has sustained vicious attacks for something that now appears at best, an exaggeration, and at worst, a “blackmailing” threat that never transpired. Not to mention the additional stress it’s placed on his already-stressed family. This is what passes for “journalism” by those who fancy themselves judge, jury, and executioner:

ALTERNATIVE TITLE: “Woman Who Cheated On Husband Narrates Her Version of Affair.” In other words, this is what a married woman who had an affair with a married man claims happened. Is it the truth? Maybe. Maybe not. No one knows but the two of them, because the pivotal piece of evidence substantiating her story apparently doesn’t exist. But what today’s revelations do suggest is that Greitens either 1) is telling the truth or 2) deleted the photo like he said he would according to the story his accuser narrated.

So. Governor Greitens is out of the invasion-of-privacy doghouse. For now. But does that mean he’s in the clear and can continue with the job of governing Missouri? Nope. Because cue the Special Prosecutor:

BREAKING: Invasion-of-privacy charge against embattled Missouri Gov. @EricGreitens dropped; special prosecutor sought.https://t.co/YGuLfmFFuX

— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 14, 2018

Where have we heard this song before? Bueller Mueller…Mueller…Mueller?

And if this really is, as Greitens has always insisted, a Stormy Daniels-esque witch hunt in search of a Republican head for its trophy wall, something tells me we haven’t heard the end of this salacious story just yet. Plus the Missouri legislature is convening Friday for a month-long impeachment discussion, and Greitens still faces a second charge regarding illegally using a charity donor list in his 2016 campaign. But, if nothing else, the violation-of-privacy charge rivals the Mueller Investigation in an utter lack of evidence and a general sense of politically-motivated fustercluckery. And here I thought Robert Mueller was the sole contender for that prize.