New Mexico filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department seeking to compel the federal government to hand over unredacted files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The complaint, filed in Washington federal court on Wednesday, contends that the Epstein files are necessary to investigate his alleged crimes at a property the late financier purchased in New Mexico in 1993.
New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez said the federal government’s conduct “actively harms victims and undermines the public interest” by “stonewalling” his criminal investigation into conduct by Epstein and his coconspirators at the Zorro Ranch estate.
The lawsuit argues that the federal government’s refusal to provide unredacted material, without adequate legal justification, obstructs New Mexico’s authority to probe and prosecute crimes committed within the state’s jurisdiction.
Mr. Torrez said the Justice Department was asked to provide access to “records that may be critical to identifying victims, witnesses and additional criminal conduct at Zorro Ranch.”
Shortly after Epstein died in jail in 2019, New Mexico reached an agreement with the Justice Department. The state was asked to pause its probe, letting the federal investigation proceed, in exchange for information about state crimes committed in New Mexico, Mr. Torrez said.
He alleges that the Justice Department did not hold up its side of the bargain. He said his office faced “sustained resistance” regarding sharing information.
Mr. Torrez said his office has made 10 requests for key information that have been ignored or denied.
“[Acting Attorney General] Todd Blanche today with a stroke of a pen could grant us the access [to the DOJ documents],” Mr. Torrez said in a Wednesday video conference call with reporters. “Instead, they have decided to stonewall, to obstruct and to frankly conceal for whatever reason.”
Epstein used Zorro Ranch regularly for over 25 years, according to the complaint, which cited 13,000 references to the estate and 5,000 references to New Mexico in the publicly released Epstein files.
The files reportedly include evidence of “grooming, trafficking, sexual abuse and other misconduct tied to the property,” Mr. Torrez said.
A 2019 email in the Epstein files claimed the bodies of two foreign girls were buried outside the property. The allegation is unverified, and New Mexico has requested an unredacted copy of that email from the Justice Department to investigate further.
Survivors have also described abuse at the ranch by Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell in depositions and testimony.
The complaint said federal investigators never searched the ranch.
Since reopening the investigation in February, New Mexico has conducted its first law enforcement search of Zorro Ranch.
A spokesperson for the Justice Department said the Epstein Files Transparency Act does not require “disclosure of victim-identifying information carte blanche, and New Mexico has provided no lawful basis to justify such sweeping disclosures.”
The spokesperson added in the statement, “DOJ remains available to assist New Mexico’s investigation consistent with the law and binding court orders.”
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