New Mexico accuses US Justice Department of impeding Epstein investigation

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The letter, dated June 30, was published online on Thursday, as part of escalating tensions between state Attorney General Raul Torrez and the administration of  President Donald Trump. In the document, Torrez outlines a series of requests he says went unanswered by the Justice Department, dating back to February. “Despite verbal assurances of cooperation from the USDOJ, access to the requested records has not been granted, no substantive response has been provided, and more than 130 days have now elapsed,” Torrez, a Democrat, wrote. “The [New Mexico Department of Justice] views this length of time as an unreasonable delay under any rule of reason.” The southwestern state reopened its investigation into Epstein in February, after the federal government released millions of files related to the convicted sex offender. Some of the records concerned Epstein’s activities on New Mexico’s Zorro Ranch, a property he owned in central New Mexico from 1993 onwards. A wealthy financier with powerful connections, Epstein built a sprawling complex on the ranch where he hosted guests. But allegations of sex trafficking on the property have never been fully investigated. New Mexico had attempted to launch an investigation into Epstein’s activities on the site in 2019, but then-state Attorney General Hector Balderas told US media his agency was asked to suspend its work to allow federal prosecutors to pursue their case. In Thursday’s letter, Torrez said he plans to finish the investigation his predecessor started, but that the probe has faced “real and escalating harm” from the lack of federal cooperation. “The USDOJ now holds in its possession the very records that would allow the [New Mexico Department of Justice] to resume what federal intervention interrupted,” Torrez said. Epstein was convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution in Florida in 2008, for which he only served 13 months in prison. At the time of his death in 2019, he was in jail awaiting federal trial for allegedly masterminding a sex-trafficking ring. His victims are thought to number in the hundreds. Questions about Epstein’s crimes resurfaced in 2025, under the second administration of Trump, who was among the politicians, entrepreneurs and artists that Epstein socialised with. Critics have accused the Trump administration of failing to be transparent in its handling of the Epstein files. Some have even speculated about whether Trump’s personal ties to the sex offender could have contributed to his reticence in releasing the government’s Epstein files. Trump has denied any knowledge or involvement in Epstein’s criminal activities. After initially opposing the release of the Epstein files, Trump backed their publication in November and subsequently signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law. That piece of legislation required the Department of Justice to publish all its records pertaining to Epstein within 30 days and with minimal redaction, except to protect the identities of victims. Legislators, however, have questioned whether the Trump administration complied with the law. While a first batch of documents was published on December 19, it was only in late January that millions of files came online – and many were heavily redacted. Meanwhile, the identities of some victims were made public in the release. In Thursday’s letter, Torrez said his office has identified multiple redacted files it requested full access to, as the state pursues its investigation. But he said the Department of Justice has failed to comply with his records request. “Every day that the USDOJ withholds these records, the foundation upon which a New Mexico prosecution could be built erodes,” Torrez wrote. “Witnesses relocate and become unreachable. Memories, already strained by years of trauma, fade further. Physical and documentary evidence degrades, is lost, or is rendered more difficult to authenticate with the passage of time.” The Department of Justice has denied impeding Torrez’s investigation and has instead told US media it stands ready to assist. According to the released Epstein files, in 2019, a conservative talk show host named Edward Aragon approached the Albuquerque office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), saying he had received a tip about abuse on the Zorro Ranch. An FBI form indicated the tipster had allegedly offered Aragon “7 videos of sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein and the location of two foreign girls buried on Zorro Ranch for sale for one bitcoin”. Also in 2019, The New York Times published an article alleging that Epstein planned to use the ranch to impregnate multiple women and spread his DNA, citing people familiar with his plans. Those reports, as well as testimony from survivors like Virginia Giuffre, have raised alarm about the activities that took place on Zorro Ranch. In February, New Mexico became the first state to launch a bipartisan “truth commission” to look into Epstein’s crimes. A report from the commission is expected by the end of the year. Giuffre’s brothers, Sky Roberts and Daniel Wilson, also participated in a protest outside the ranch earlier this year. Their sister died by suicide in April 2025. 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