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U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury, left, and then-Interior Secretary Deb Haaland chat in September 2023 after the groundbreaking for the SunZia Wind and Transmission project near Corona.
State Senate Republicans want Democratic gubernatorial nominee Deb Haaland and U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury to come clean about their ties to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associates, even though Haaland has already provided an explanation backed by records and Stansbury's supposed connectionhas been debunked.
The Senate GOP caucus called Thursday for a "truth commission" investigating Epstein's activities in New Mexico, specifically at his former Zorro Ranch in southern Santa Fe County, to subpoena the two Democrats to compel them "to testify, under oath, about their knowledge of and connections to Jeffrey Epstein and individuals associated with his criminal network."
Not doing so would undermine the commission's credibility, Republicans warned.
"Subpoenaingfederal agencieswhile giving a pass to two of the most powerful Democrats in New Mexico is not transparency," Senate Minority Leader Bill Sharer of Farmington said in a statement. "It's selective accountability, and New Mexicans will see right through it."
The caucus called on the commission, which is made up of two Democratic and two Republican House members, to take up the matter at its next meeting and issue subpoenas accordingly.
Senate Minority Leader Bill Sharer, R-Farmington, on the Senate floor in March 2025.
"Should the Commission decline to pursue this common-sense step, the Caucus and the citizens of New Mexico will be forced to question whether the Commission, as currently constituted, is capable of conducting the truly nonpartisan, survivor-centered investigation it has promised New Mexicans," Republicans said in a news release.
"We believe the committee should look at every lead, regardless of who that may be," the Republican members, Reps. Andrea Reeb of Clovis and Bill Hall of Farmington said in a joint statement.
The chair, Rep. Andrea Romero, a Santa Fe Democrat, declined a request for an interview. In a statement, she said the bipartisan commission "was structured as an independent body for a reason: to conduct an investigation driven by evidence and the pursuit of justice for victims."
The commission, she said, is committed to pursuing "all credible leads" and welcomes information of alleged wrongdoing in New Mexico involving Epstein.
