New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez accused the US Justice Department (DOJ) of obstructing the state's investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Torrez published his June 30 letter online on Thursday, leveling harsh criticism at the federal government.
Democratic Attorney General Torrez stated in the letter that his requests to the Justice Department since February have gone unanswered. "Despite receiving verbal assurances of cooperation from the DOJ, access to the requested records was not provided, no substantive response was given, and more than 130 days have passed," he said.
New Mexico had reopened the investigation in February after the federal government released millions of files related to convicted sex offender Epstein. Some of the records pertained to Epstein's activities at the Zorro Ranch, which he owned in the central part of the state since 1993.
Epstein was convicted in 2008 in Florida of soliciting a minor for prostitution and served only 13 months in jail. At the time of his death in 2019, he was awaiting federal trial on charges of running a sex trafficking ring believed to have hundreds of victims.
The Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files sparked controversy. Initially opposed to releasing the files, Trump later supported their release and signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The first batch of documents went online on December 19, with millions more files following at the end of January; but many were heavily redacted and some victims' identities were exposed.
Torrez said his office identified numerous redacted files for which it requested full access, but the Justice Department has not complied with the records request. "Every day the DOJ withholds these records, the foundation on which a prosecution could be built in New Mexico erodes," he wrote. "Witnesses relocate and become unreachable. Memories, already strained by years of trauma, fade further. Physical and documentary evidence degrades, disappears, or becomes harder to verify over time."
The Justice Department denied allegations that it is obstructing Torrez's investigation and said it is ready to assist.
According to the released Epstein files, in 2019 conservative talk radio host Edward Aragon said the FBI's Albuquerque office received a tip about abuse at the Zorro Ranch. An FBI form showed the tipster offered Aragon "seven videos of sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein and the location of two foreign girls buried at Zorro Ranch in exchange for a Bitcoin."
The New York Times in 2019 also published an article reporting that Epstein intended to use the ranch to impregnate multiple women to spread his DNA.
New Mexico became the first state to establish a bipartisan "truth commission" in February to investigate Epstein's crimes. The commission is expected to submit its report by the end of the year. The siblings of Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre also protested outside the ranch earlier this year. Giuffre died by suicide in April 2025.
