New Mexico's Department of Justice sued the U.S. Department of Justice and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday, saying the federal government has blocked the state's ability to investigate Jeffrey Epstein's sex crimes at a ranch south of Santa Fe. The lawsuit accuses federal officials of stonewalling a criminal investigation led by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez into Epstein and his remaining associates.
Filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., the suit alleges the federal government violated the Administrative Procedure Act and broader federalism principles, according to KVIA. New Mexico is asking a judge to force the release of unredacted files or to order that its requests be processed under federal Touhy regulations, per that outlet's reporting. As of Wednesday, the Justice Department had not returned a request for comment, according to The Associated Press.
The lawsuit also argues that the federal government's actions actively harm victims and undermine the public interest. State officials say a successful outcome could let New Mexico hold Epstein's remaining associates accountable and offer some sense of justice to survivors, and the state has already released a report outlining preliminary findings from its investigation into Epstein and his ranch.
A Ranch With a Complicated History
Epstein purchased the sprawling estate in Stanley, New Mexico — about 30 miles south of Santa Fe — in 1993, buying it from the estate of former New Mexico Gov. Bruce King before turning it into the 10,000-acre Zorro Ranch, complete with a hilltop mansion, private airstrip and helipad, according to The Guardian.
Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges in July 2019 and denied bail before he died by suicide the following month in a federal jail in New York City, per The Associated Press. Witness testimony has alleged that Epstein and his former associate Ghislaine Maxwell sexually abused women at the New Mexico ranch; Maxwell was convicted on sex trafficking charges at a Manhattan trial in 2021 and is serving a 20-year prison sentence. Epstein's estate sold the property in 2023 to the family of Don Huffines, who renamed it San Rafael Ranch and plan to operate a Christian retreat there; Huffines himself was later appointed Texas state comptroller.
The First-Ever Search of Zorro Ranch
New Mexico state law enforcement executed a search warrant on the Zorro Ranch compound in March, marking the first confirmed law enforcement search of the property; federal agencies never carried out a confirmed search during earlier investigations, according to KVIA.
The ranch has drawn scrutiny beyond the courtroom this year. Hoodline previously reported that YouTubers say they were shot at near the property in April, and that 30 weapons vanished from the ranch that same month.
A Broken Promise From 2019
Former New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas revealed in a July 21 letter that state prosecutors agreed in 2019 to pause witness interviews after federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York promised to share investigative records once their case concluded — a promise Balderas says federal officials never kept. Separately, the New Mexico Legislature formed a special "Truth Commission" subcommittee in February, chaired by state Rep. Andrea Romero, which by June 18 had issued subpoenas to five federal U.S. Attorney's offices and four state regulatory agencies to examine Epstein's footprint in the state, according to News From The States.
Torrez and his senior prosecutors have faced sustained resistance to information-sharing from federal investigators throughout the renewed inquiry, the Associated Press reports, with the Justice Department insisting that requests be submitted formally before rejecting them once they were made.
DOJ Says Release Would Violate Victims' Privacy
The Justice Department publicly rejected New Mexico's demands for unredacted files on July 15, asserting on social media that releasing the records would violate federal privacy laws and existing court orders protecting victims and witnesses, according to Al Jazeera.
Blanche and the Justice Department have separately been accused in New Mexico's lawsuit of hiding information about Epstein and his co-conspirators. Blanche faced intense pressure during his Senate confirmation process in July, when Republican Sen. Thom Tillis required him to meet with Epstein survivors on July 16, according to AP News.
Files Trickle Out Under New Transparency Law
President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November 2025, triggering federal file releases that disclosed thousands of references to Zorro Ranch and prompted New Mexico prosecutors to reopen their probe, per The Guardian.
The Justice Department began releasing investigative records on Epstein and Maxwell in 2025 under that law, records that included photographs, interview transcripts, call logs, court records and other documents, the Associated Press reports. But accusers and members of Congress have complained about shoddy redactions and excessive sealed material, with critics saying many of the released files were either already public or so heavily blacked out that they lacked necessary context.
State Pressure Extends to Banks, Tech Firms and Public Lands
As part of its renewed criminal investigation into Zorro Ranch operations, New Mexico's Department of Justice has issued formal record-preservation notices to major corporate entities including JPMorgan Chase, Google and PayPal, according to News From The States.
New Mexico's tangle with Epstein's ranch predates this year's fight. In September 2019, State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard canceled two state trust land grazing leases covering 1,234 acres surrounding Zorro Ranch that were held by Epstein's Virgin Islands entity, Cypress Inc., citing lease misrepresentations and obstruction of inspections, according to NM Political Report.
For now, New Mexico's lawsuit remains before a federal judge in Washington, D.C., with the state and the Justice Department at odds over how much of Epstein's paper trail near Santa Fe survivors and prosecutors will ever get to see.
