Another high-profile name and someone within President Donald Trump's inner circle was linked to late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, CNN reported Friday.
Current Navy Secretary John Phelan was listed on a flight manifest in 2006 from London to New York. The flight was before he was named Navy secretary.
Phelan was on board with about 13 people; six of those names were redacted.
A close friend, whose name was not released, told CNN that it was the only time he and Epstein interacted, and he was invited by Bear Stearns CEO Jimmy Cayne. Phelan reportedly did not realize it was Epstein's plane until they arrived on it, and there was no contact after that.
There are no allegations of wrongdoing against Phelan, who declined to comment to CNN through a spokesperson.
No other indications showed that Epstein and Phelan had interacted beyond the flight.
Epstein and Jean-Luc Brunel were reportedly on the flight. Brunel, who was charged with sexual assault, including a minor, was a French model scout and owner of a modeling agency with significant financial backing from Epstein. Brunel died by apparent suicide in 2022 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, much like Epstein allegedly had in 2019.