ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A standoff between New Mexico’s attorney general and the U.S. Department of Justice is escalating over access to unredacted Jeffrey Epstein files tied to an ongoingcriminal investigation at Zorro Ranch.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez says key records remain locked away as he investigates potential crimes connected to Epstein’s New Mexico property. He argues Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche has the authority to release the unredacted Epstein files but has yet to do so.
Torrez said he has spent months seeking unredacted records he believes are critical to advancing the state’s criminal investigation at former Zorro Ranch.
“For some reason, they are treating access to these files completely differently than any other criminal case that I’ve ever been involved in,” Torrez said.
The First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico told 4 Investigates heexpected “full cooperation”between the USDOJ and the New Mexico Department of Justice. But Torrez said his office ultimately received just 31 pages of material.
“Getting 31 pages that includes old newspaper clippings and letters from our own agency is pretty pathetic,” he said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Mexico has said it did not lead the Epstein investigation and directed questions to the Southern District of New York, which handled the federal Epstein investigation.
Torrez said in a Tuesday phone call officials at the Southern District of New York told him they would not provide the unredacted files.
“In this really bizarre argument they said that they couldn’t do it because of privacy interests on behalf of victims,” Torrez said.
But he argues that the final decision rests with Todd Blanche.
“This is all really a smokescreen,” Torrez said. “It’s not Ry Ellison’s decision. It’s not the Southern District of New York’s decision. This is Todd Blanche’s decision.”
Blanche, who previously worked as a federal prosecutor in New York before serving as President Donald Trump’s attorney, is currently undergoing Senate confirmation proceedings.
“He can, with a stroke of a pen, grant us the access we need to complete this investigation,” Torrez said.
Torrez launched a state criminal investigation into activities at Zorro Ranch, Epstein’s sprawling Santa Fe County estate.
He said the federal files contain roughly 13,000 known references to Zorro Ranch, but much of that information remains redacted.
