Government Hooker Scandal Spreads to Brazil

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta found himself in Brazil this week (maybe he flew straight from his California home this time?) facing questions about an altercation between several Marines stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia, an embassy employee and two local prostitutes in December.

Voice of America describes the incident:

An unidentified U.S. Defense official said the Marines and a U.S. Embassy employee picked up two prostitutes at a nightclub in Brasilia and had a dispute over payment while in a car. Another official said one of the women was pushed out of the car and suffered a broken collar bone.

One of the women involved hired an attorney after news spread of a payment dispute between members of the Secret Service and a Colombian escort in Cartagena earlier this month. While Secretary Panetta insisted he had "no tolerance for that kind of conduct," he could only offer that the unidentified Marines and embassy employee were no longer in Brazil, reduced in rank and "severely punished." Hopefully they weren't sent to Gitmo, but with no word from the Defense or State Departments on what exactly happened or who was involved, any hope of government transparency remains with the hooker's legal recourse.

As for the Secret Service incident in Cartagena and any possible involvement by White House officials, Press Secretary Jay Carney assures us there was none. Fast work by the White House!