New Mexico sues DOJ and Todd Blanche, alleging they blocked Epstein probe

Epstein filesNew Mexico sues DOJ and Todd Blanche, alleging they blocked Epstein probeThe lawsuit was filed the day New Mexico is releasing a report of its preliminary findings from an ongoing probe into Epstein and his ranch in Stanley.Listen to this article with a free profile00:0000:00Add NBC News to GoogleNew Mexico AG sues Blanche and DOJ, accuses them of impeding state's Epstein probe08:37Get more newsLiveonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleAug. 5, 2026, 1:38 PM EDT / Updated Aug. 6, 2026, 2:30 AM EDTBy The Associated PressCEDAR CREST, N.M. — New Mexico’s attorney general sued the U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday, accusing it of blocking the state from investigating sex crimes at Jeffrey Epstein’s sprawling ranch near Santa Fe.The lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., said the department and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stonewalled New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez’s criminal investigation into Epstein and others, taking steps that “actively harms victims and undermines the public interest.”The lawsuit seeking judicial intervention to force the federal government to turn over materials to New Mexico’s investigators was filed the same day that the state released a report saying “those directly responsible for protecting New Mexicans relied on others to do their job,” including federal prosecutors in New York.“The federal prosecutors, though, never prioritized New Mexicans, focusing instead on Epstein’s misdeeds in New York, Palm Beach, Florida, and the Virgin Islands, while leaving Epstein’s offenses in New Mexico unexamined,” the report said.Meanwhile, according to the Washington lawsuit, Torrez and his senior prosecutors “have faced sustained resistance” to the kind of information-sharing that had occurred in the past between state and federal investigators.In a statement, the Justice Department said it was not releasing some information the state requested because federal court orders ban disclosing “victim-identifying information car...