New Mexico Attorney General Accuses DOJ of Stonewalling Over Epstein Ranch Documents

Attorney General Raúl Torrez set a July 31 deadline for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to turn over unredacted records related to alleged abuse of girls at Jeffrey Epstein’s former 10,000-acre Zorro Ranch in New Mexico. As the deadline passed, the DOJ provided only 31 pages—mostly old news clippings and heavily redacted material—insufficient for the state’s reopened criminal inquiry.

The Guardian

Torrez reopened a criminal investigation that his predecessor, Hector Balderas, had launched in February 2019. Zorro Ranch, purchased in 1993 from the estate of former Democratic governor Bruce King, has appeared in thousands of references within the “Epstein files” released earlier this year. Unlike Epstein’s Palm Beach, New York, and Caribbean island properties, no federal search of Zorro Ranch has ever been confirmed.

The Guardian

• Todd Blanche, acting DOJ attorney general, told a Senate confirmation hearing that his team was “continuing to work” with the New Mexico DOJ.

The Guardian

• Jay Clayton, former SDNY U.S.

The Guardian

• The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico said it “substantively responded” on June 30 by emailing the 31 documents, noting it had not led or handled the Zorro Ranch investigation and therefore possessed no investigative materials.

The Guardian

• “I’m not taking anything off the table. I’m not ruling out a lawsuit.” — Raúl Torrez

The Guardian

• “It appears that the administration has been really focused on the management of communications around the Epstein case, rather than acting in a way that demonstrates a commitment to getting to the truth and getting to accountability,” — Torrez. Especially

The Guardian