New Mexico accuses US Justice Department of impeding Epstein investigation

The lawyer wide of New Mexico has released a missive helium sent to the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ), blasting the national authorities for impeding the state’s probe into the precocious enactment offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The letter, dated June 30, was published online connected Thursday, arsenic portion of escalating tensions betwixt authorities Attorney General Raul Torrez and the medication of  President Donald Trump.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 3Ex-US Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies successful Epstein files probe
• list 2 of 3Trump nominates Todd Blanche arsenic US lawyer general, teeing up Senate fight
• list 3 of 3Bill Gates testifies successful closed-door US House gathering implicit Epstein ties

In the document, Torrez outlines a bid of requests helium says went unanswered by the Justice Department, dating backmost to February.

“Despite verbal assurances of practice from the USDOJ, entree to the requested records has not been granted, nary substantive effect has been provided, and much than 130 days person present elapsed,” Torrez, a Democrat, wrote.

“The [New Mexico Department of Justice] views this magnitude of clip arsenic an unreasonable hold nether immoderate regularisation of reason.”

The southwestern authorities reopened its investigation into Epstein successful February, aft the national authorities released millions of files related to the convicted enactment offender.

Some of the records acrophobic Epstein’s activities connected New Mexico’s Zorro Ranch, a spot helium owned successful cardinal New Mexico from 1993 onwards.

A affluent financier with almighty connections, Epstein built a sprawling analyzable connected the ranch wherever helium hosted guests. But allegations of enactment trafficking connected the spot person ne'er been afloat investigated.

Reopening the case

New Mexico had attempted to motorboat an probe into Epstein’s activities connected the tract successful 2019, but then-state Attorney General Hector Balderas told US media his bureau was asked to suspend its enactment to let national prosecutors to prosecute their case.

In Thursday’s letter, Torrez said helium plans to decorativeness the probe his predecessor started, but that the probe has faced “real and escalating harm” from the deficiency of national cooperation.

“The USDOJ present holds successful its possession the precise records that would let the [New Mexico Department of Justice] to resume what national involution interrupted,” Torrez said.

Epstein was convicted of soliciting a insignificant for prostitution successful Florida successful 2008, for which helium lone served 13 months successful prison. At the clip of his decease successful 2019, helium was successful jailhouse awaiting national proceedings for allegedly masterminding a sex-trafficking ring. His victims are thought to fig successful the hundreds.

Questions astir Epstein’s crimes resurfaced successful 2025, nether the 2nd medication of Trump, who was among the politicians, entrepreneurs and artists that Epstein socialised with.

Critics person accused the Trump medication of failing to beryllium transparent successful its handling of the Epstein files. Some person adjacent speculated astir whether Trump’s idiosyncratic ties to the enactment offender could person contributed to his reticence successful releasing the government’s Epstein files.

Trump has denied immoderate cognition oregon engagement successful Epstein’s transgression activities.

After initially opposing the merchandise of the Epstein files, Trump backed their work successful November and subsequently signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law.

That portion of authorities required the Department of Justice to people each its records pertaining to Epstein wrong 30 days and with minimal redaction, but to support the identities of victims.

Legislators, however, person questioned whether the Trump medication complied with the law. While a archetypal batch of documents was published connected December 19, it was lone successful precocious January that millions of files came online – and galore were heavy redacted.

Meanwhile, the identities of immoderate victims were made nationalist successful the release.

Accessing the Epstein files

In Thursday’s letter, Torrez said his bureau has identified aggregate redacted files it requested afloat entree to, arsenic the authorities pursues its investigation. But helium said the Department of Justice has failed to comply with his records request.

“Every time that the USDOJ withholds these records, the instauration upon which a New Mexico prosecution could beryllium built erodes,” Torrez wrote.

“Witnesses relocate and go unreachable. Memories, already strained by years of trauma, slice further. Physical and documentary grounds degrades, is lost, oregon is rendered much hard to authenticate with the transition of time.”

The Department of Justice has denied impeding Torrez’s probe and has alternatively told US media it stands acceptable to assist.

According to the released Epstein files, successful 2019, a blimpish speech amusement big named Edward Aragon approached the Albuquerque bureau of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), saying helium had received a tip astir abuse connected the Zorro Ranch.

An FBI signifier indicated the tipster had allegedly offered Aragon “7 videos of intersexual maltreatment by Jeffrey Epstein and the determination of 2 overseas girls buried connected Zorro Ranch for merchantability for 1 bitcoin”.

Also successful 2019, The New York Times published an nonfiction alleging that Epstein planned to usage the ranch to impregnate aggregate women and dispersed his DNA, citing radical acquainted with his plans.

Those reports, arsenic good arsenic grounds from survivors similar Virginia Giuffre, person raised alarm astir the activities that took spot connected Zorro Ranch.

In February, New Mexico became the archetypal authorities to launch a bipartisan “truth commission” to look into Epstein’s crimes. A study from the committee is expected by the extremity of the year.

Giuffre’s brothers, Sky Roberts and Daniel Wilson, besides participated successful a protestation extracurricular the ranch earlier this year. Their sister died by termination successful April 2025.