New Mexico has filed a lawsuit in the US district court for the district of Columbia against the US Department of Justice and acting attorney general Todd Blanche. The state alleges the department is 'stonewalling' its criminal investigation into the activities of Jeffrey Epstein at a ranch located in New Mexico.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez is seeking 'complete and unredacted access' to files from investigations into Epstein. The investigation focuses on alleged crimes at the Zorro ranch, a 10,000-acre property situated approximately 30 miles south of Santa Fe.
The criminal investigation into Epstein's activities in New Mexico was initially opened in February 2019 by former New Mexico attorney general Hector Balderas. Jeffrey Epstein died in a New York jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial on child sex-trafficking charges; his death was ruled a suicide.
Dispute over document access
Torrez stated that the US Department of Justice has ignored at least 10 requests from his office for access to the documents. He also noted that the department appeared to ignore a July 31 deadline to share information regarding alleged historical abuse at the Zorro ranch.
While the US attorney's office for the district of New Mexico stated it had 'substantively responded' to Torrez's request on June 30 by emailing 31 documents, Torrez characterized the materials as mostly old news clippings and heavily redacted pages of little use to state investigators.
Their delay is actively hurting our criminal investigation and delaying justice Epstein survivors deserve.
Federal prosecutors from the US southern district of New York told Torrez they 'will not cooperate' in the New Mexico investigation.
The Zorro ranch and allegations
The Zorro ranch was purchased by Epstein in 1993 from the estate of former New Mexico governor Bruce King. According to Torrez, the property is referenced at least 13,000 times in the Epstein files.
References to the Zorro ranch property in the Epstein files, according to Raúl Torrez.
The lawsuit states that Epstein and his criminal network subjected over 1,000 survivors to predatory conduct.
