New Mexico’s Epstein file fight just got uglier

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez is escalating his fight with the U.S. Department of Justice over Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch files, filing a federal lawsuit that seeks access to unredacted investigative records tied to Epstein’s alleged crimes in New Mexico.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, names U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and the U.S. Department of Justice as defendants. Torrez’s office says the federal government is unlawfully blocking New Mexico’s renewed criminal investigation into abuse, trafficking, and other sex-related crimes allegedly connected to Epstein’s former Zorro Ranch outside Santa Fe.

But the renewed demand raises the same disturbing question Piñon Post previously reported: exactly how far does Torrez want the federal government to go in turning over raw Epstein materials that may include victim identities, graphic evidence, sealed information, and child sexual abuse material?

The state’s lawsuit asks the court to force USDOJ to provide access to “unredacted Epstein files and related unreleased materials” or, at minimum, require the department to reconsider the request under its own Touhy regulations.

“New Mexico has a duty to protect survivors and investigate crimes committed in our state so that perpetrators can be held accountable,” Torrez said in the press release announcing the suit. “We asked the Department of Justice to cooperate by providing access to records that may be critical to identifying victims, witnesses, and additional criminal conduct at Zorro Ranch. Their delay is actively hurting our criminal investigation and delaying justice Epstein survivors deserve.”

According to the complaint, Epstein and his network engaged in “widespread trafficking and sexual abuse of young girls,” including victims in New Mexico. The lawsuit says Epstein purchased Zorro Ranch in 1993 and repeatedly visited the state until his death in 2019.

The complaint also says the publicly released Epstein files contain more than 13,000 references to Zorro Ranch and 5,000 references to New Mexico as locations where victims were allegedly trafficked, groomed, and assaulted.

Torrez’s office argues that federal prosecutors told New Mexico in 2019 to stand down from its own investigation while the federal government pursued Epstein-related matters. The state claims DOJ promised cooperation later, but never delivered the information New Mexico says it needs to pursue potential state charges.

The complaint says New Mexico reopened its Zorro Ranch investigation in February and conducted the first law enforcement search of the ranch on March 9.

But the lawsuit also confirms the sensitive nature of the records at issue. The state’s own complaint notes that the Epstein Files Transparency Act permits federal officials to withhold or redact categories of information from public disclosure, including victims’ personally identifiable information, child sexual abuse materials, materials that could jeopardize an active investigation, images of death or physical abuse, and classified national security information.

That is exactly why the fight is not as simple as Torrez and New Mexico Democrats suggest.

The dispute is not merely about “transparency.” It is about whether a state attorney general should be given access to raw Epstein materials that federal officials say are protected by court orders, privacy laws, and victim safeguards.

Piñon Post previously reported that unredacted Epstein records can contain the most sensitive material imaginable: names, addresses, identifying details, witness information, sealed investigative records, graphic evidence, and potentially child sexual abuse material — commonly called child pornography.

Torrez’s office says it wants the information for law enforcement purposes, not public release. But federal officials have already warned that the demand for unredacted material may collide with legal protections designed to prevent victims from being exposed again.

In earlier reporting, a DOJ spokesperson rejected New Mexico’s claims and said, “Federal law, court orders and privacy protections for victims and witnesses do not allow us to release millions of unredacted documents, regardless of any deadline set by NMDOJ.”

The spokesperson added, “To capitulate to their demands would be to break federal law. Is that what the NM AG is suggesting?”

Torrez is now asking a federal court to answer that question.

The state’s complaint argues that DOJ is hiding behind privacy objections and protective orders while refusing to assist the only active state criminal investigation into Epstein’s alleged New Mexico conduct. It claims DOJ’s refusal is “arbitrary and capricious,” an abuse of discretion, and contrary to law.

The filing also accuses DOJ of betraying survivors, saying federal officials “secretly negotiated” Epstein’s infamous non-prosecution agreement years ago and later failed to properly protect survivor information when materials were made public.

That point undercuts the federal government, but it also underscores the danger of mishandling raw Epstein records. The complaint itself alleges DOJ previously posted “detailed, unredacted personal information about survivors,” including contact information and nude images.

The reality is that much of this mess long predates the current Trump administration. Federal handling of Epstein records stretches across multiple administrations, including the Biden/Garland era and earlier. If prior DOJ officials redacted, withheld, failed to gather, or failed to preserve material, the current administration cannot magically recreate what federal bureaucrats never properly collected or safely prepared for disclosure.

And if the material still exists but is shielded by court orders or victim protections, then Torrez is asking the court to force a legal confrontation over some of the most sensitive evidence in modern criminal history.

New Mexico deserves answers about what happened at Zorro Ranch. Survivors deserve justice. Anyone who aided, enabled, trafficked, abused, or covered up Epstein’s crimes should be held accountable.

But that does not mean officials should bulldoze protections for victims or demand sweeping access to raw files that may contain child sexual abuse material and graphic evidence involving minors.

Torrez’s lawsuit may be framed as a fight for justice. It may also be a test of whether political pressure will be used to pry open files the law has long treated as too sensitive for broad disclosure.

The court will now decide whether DOJ must turn over the unredacted Epstein materials — or whether New Mexico’s demand goes too far.