Exclusive: Navy secretary John Phelan listed as passenger on Jeffrey Epstein’s private plane in 2006
By Haley Britzky, CNN
(CNN) — Secretary of the Navy John Phelan is named on a flight manifest found among millions of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that have been released in recent months, showing that he flew in 2006 from London to New York on Epstein’s private plane.
The manifest lists Phelan alongside 12 other passengers including Epstein and apparently Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent and close associate of Epstein who was facing charges of sexual assault and rape of a minor when he was found dead in his prison cell in 2022. Brunel’s name appears to have been misspelled as “Jean Luk Brunnel” on the manifest.
Six names on the list are redacted. The flight left London traveling to New York on the afternoon of March 3, 2006.
Phelan declined to comment through a Navy spokesperson.
A close friend of Phelan’s confirmed that Phelan was on board the flight, but emphasized it was the only time Phelan interacted with Epstein and that he was invited to fly by Bear Stearns CEO Jimmy Cayne, who died in 2021.
Phelan, who was working in the financial sector at the time, did not know they’d be riding on Epstein’s plane until they arrived, Phelan’s friend told CNN. During the flight, Epstein pitched the other financiers on a tax concept that Phelan “had no interest in,” the friend said, and Phelan never spoke or interacted with Epstein again.
Three other passengers, all with apparent ties to the financial sector, are listed in the document. According to details on the manifest, the plane — a Boeing 727 — was one of the notorious aircraft owned by Epstein. There is no evidence Phelan knew of any wrongdoing by Epstein or his associates when he took the flight. Epstein was first indicted in Florida several months later in July 2006 for felony solicitation of prostitution.
Phelan, a businessman with no prior military service, was previously the founder and chairman of Rugger Management LLC, a private investment firm he formed in 2022, before being confirmed as secretary of the Navy in March 2025.
The manifest was part of a document dump from the House Oversight Committee last year. Redactions throughout the documents are largely used to protect the names of victims and other identifying information, the Justice Department website hosting the files says. The Justice Department released roughly three million more documents related to Epstein last week.
Phelan and his wife are prominent art collectors and fundraised millions for President Donald Trump’s campaign, including holding a high-dollar fundraising dinner for Trump in August 2024.
Trump announced Phelan as his pick for secretary of the Navy in November 2024, saying he has “excelled in every endeavor.”
“John will be a tremendous force for our Naval servicemembers, and a steadfast leader in advancing my America First vision,” Trump said at the time. “He will put the business of the US Navy above all else.”
The-CNN-Wire
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