Reporter
A political action committee linked to a high-powered law firm has unleashed a hard-hitting ad that seeks to amplify Democratic gubernatorial contender Deb Haaland’s ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein ahead of the hotly contested and increasingly bitter June primary election.
But the 30-second digital ad is misleading.
It mischaracterizes Haaland’s connection to the disgraced financier, who owned a ranch in Santa Fe County before his death in 2019, soon after he was charged with federal child sex trafficking crimes.
While Epstein had longtime ties to the family of former New Mexico Attorney General Gary King, Haaland’s running mate in the 2014 election — and Epstein files released so far by the U.S. Department of Justice show King communicated with the financier many times, even after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to a child sex crime in Florida — Haaland’s name appears rarely in the documents.
King, who was running for governor in 2014 with Haaland on his ticket as the lieutenant governor candidate, acceptedcampaign fundingfrom Epstein, the documents show.
An organization called Accountable New Mexico released a misleading ad accusing Deb Haaland of having ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
“The ad is a lie — it is completely false,” Hannah Menchoff, a spokesperson for Haaland’s campaign, said in a telephone interview Wednesday.
“It’s just Sam Bregman lying about Deb because he has no path to victory,” Menchoff said, referring to the Bernalillo County district attorney, who is vying for the Democratic nomination for governor against Haaland, a former congresswoman and U.S. interior secretary who has had a wide lead in the polls.
A spokesperson for Bregman rejected assertions his campaign was involved with the ad, or the independent expenditure group that paid for it, called Accountable New Mexico. The political organization, which registered with the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office on March 3, is tied to a Philadelphia-based law firm with offices nationwide.
“Our campaign is not affiliated with this group in any way,” Joanie Griffin, Bregman’s campaign press secretary, said in a statement.
“However there does not seem to be any factually incorrect statements made in this ad,” Griffin added. “The Epstein files clearly lay out the truth of what happened.”
