The New Mexico Department of Justice has filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, seeking unredacted files related to Jeffrey Epstein and his former Zorro Ranch property. The state is conducting a criminal investigation into alleged crimes that may have occurred at the ranch, which is located near Santa Fe.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, accuses the U.S. DOJ of unlawfully impeding the state’s investigation by refusing to share pertinent files and information. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez stated that the federal government’s delay is harming the state’s criminal investigation and obstructing justice for Epstein’s survivors.
According to the 40-page complaint, New Mexico officials initially suspended their review of the Zorro Ranch property in 2019 at the request of federal prosecutors. State officials reported that in July 2019, the DOJ directed them to halt their investigation into Epstein’s potential criminal activities in New Mexico, purportedly in exchange for the DOJ sharing any information it uncovered about potential state crimes. New Mexico asserts that the DOJ never provided such information, despite internally discussing Epstein's activities tied to the state and considering investigative steps.
The suit further alleges that federal law enforcement never searched Zorro Ranch, did not attempt to seize the property or associated New Mexico assets, and failed to preserve or gather evidence of Epstein’s crimes in the state. Documents released last year under the Epstein Files Transparency Act reportedly revealed that Zorro Ranch was one of the locations where Epstein’s victims were taken.
The Zorro Ranch property was referenced more than 13,000 times in the redacted federal files. Additionally, other New Mexico locations where victims were allegedly trafficked, groomed, and assaulted were referenced 5,000 times, the lawsuit states.
A DOJ spokesperson stated that the department is not legally obligated to share the unredacted files, citing concerns for victim privacy. The spokesperson explained that the Epstein Files Transparency Act does not mandate the broad disclosure of victim-identifying information, and existing protective orders in the Southern District of New York prohibit such disclosures. The DOJ maintains that protecting victim privacy is a priority and that such requests do not outweigh privacy protections. The department added that it remains available to assist New Mexico’s investigation in accordance with the law and court orders.
The lawsuit was filed on the same day a bipartisan truth commission, established by New Mexico’s House of Representatives in February, released an interim report on its investigation into the ranch. The commission’s report detailed challenges with inconsistent and arbitrary redactions in federal documents and noted an inability to reach an agreement with the state’s DOJ on information sharing. The commission is due to submit its final report by the end of the year.