The Navy’s top civilian leader was listed on a passenger manifest list for convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s private plane, documents reportedly show.
According to a flight manifest, Navy Secretary John Phelan traveled from London to New York City on March 3, 2006, on the disgraced financier’s private jet, CNN reported Friday.
Epstein was awaiting trial for child sex-trafficking charges when he was found dead in his jail cell on Aug. 10, 2019, at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City. His death was ruled a suicide by medical examiners.
A close friend of Phelan’s confirmed to CNN he was on the flight but that it was the only instance Phelan interacted with Epstein and that Phelan, then working in the financial sector, was invited to fly by the late Bear Stearns CEO Jimmy Cayne. CNN did not identify the friend.
The friend told CNN that Phelan did not know they would be flying in Epstein’s plane prior to their arrival and that Phelan never interacted or spoke with Epstein again. CNN further reported that there is no evidence Phelan was aware of any wrongdoing by Epstein or Epstein’s associates at the time of the flight.
Phelan founded Rugger Management LLC, a private investment firm based in Palm Beach, Florida. He was also a major donor for President Donald Trump’s second reelection campaign, Military Times previously reported.
Phelan’s name is listed alongside 12 other passengers that day, according to CNN, including what appears to be Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent and colleague of Epstein who was found dead in his jail cell in 2022 after being charged with sexual assault and rape of a minor. Brunel’s name appears to have been spelled incorrectly on the manifest list as “Jean Luke Brunnel.”
Six of the 13 passengers’ names were redacted.
The flight manifest was part of a document release from the House Oversight Committee last year, CNN reported. The Department of Justice released 3.5 million documents related to Epstein last week.
Trump announced Phelan as his pick for Navy secretary on Nov. 26, 2024. He was sworn in four months later.
Military Times reached out to the Navy secretary’s office for comment.
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.
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