Former aide to Prince Charles steps down over cash-for-honors scandal
CNN
Prince Charles' longest serving and closest aide has stepped down voluntarily as head of The Prince's Foundation amid claims of misconduct first reported by the Sunday Times.
Michael Fawcett, who previously served as the prince's valet, has been accused of using his position and influence to help Saudi businessman Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz obtain an honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (or CBE) title, according to the Sunday Times. An honorary CBE is one of the highest accolades that can be received by a non-Commonwealth citizen. The Sunday Times reported Mahfouz made large financial donations to refurbishment projects of interest to the Prince of Wales in exchange for support in securing the honorary title, which the Queen conferred in 2016. The newspaper alleges Fawcett -- who left his valet role in 2003 but was reportedly freelancing for the royal -- coordinated the application process.Over and over at a confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Democratic senators confronted Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about controversial comments they said he had made in the past. And over and over, President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of health and human services either denied having said those things or said he wasn’t sure he had said them.
Investigators are intensifying their search into what caused the collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 and an Army Black Hawk helicopter, with recovery crews still working to pull wreckage from the Potomac River and initial concerns already raised about the path of at least one of the aircraft.