The controversy surrounding Democrat state Rep. Andrea Romero is widening after a taxpayer-funded public relations firm hired to assist New Mexico’s Jeffrey Epstein “truth commission” became entangled in Romero’s personal political crisis — and then abruptly parted ways with the commission.
Romero, who chairs the Survivors Truth Commission examining Epstein’s activities in New Mexico, was already under fire after resigning from a part-time job at the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Attorney General Raúl Torrez determined that an ongoing paid position with a prosecutor’s office was unlawful for a sitting legislator, rejecting Romero’s contention that his office had previously given her permission to hold both jobs.
Now Republican lawmakers say Romero compounded the problem by involving Dini von Mueffling Communications, the Manhattan public relations firm taxpayers were paying to handle communications for the Epstein commission.
The firm’s contract with the Legislative Council Service began Aug. 11 and carried a maximum value of $60,000, according to Source NM. Its role was to manage media inquiries and communications connected to the commission’s work.
Instead, the firm issued a statement on Romero’s behalf concerning her resignation from the district attorney’s office — a matter involving Romero personally rather than the commission’s investigation.
That prompted Senate Minority Leader Bill Sharer, R-Farmington, to call for Romero to resign both as commission chair and from the New Mexico House.
“The evidence suggests she used taxpayer dollars appropriated for a truth commission investigating one of the most notorious predators in modern history to instead pay a contractor to clean up her own political mess,” Sharer said, according to Source NM. “That is not what that money was for, and it is exactly the kind of self-dealing New Mexico’s Governmental Conduct Act was written to stop.”
Sharer said he has also asked the State Ethics Commission to investigate.
PR firm exits after lawmakers ask questions
Republican commission members Reps. Andrea Reeb of Clovis and William Hall of Aztec said the situation became even more troubling when they sought additional information from the PR firm about its communications with Romero.
According to KOB and the Santa Fe New Mexican, rather than provide the requested details — including emails between the firm and Romero — Dini von Mueffling Communications resigned from its role with the commission.
“We are deeply concerned with Representative Romero’s misuse of the Epstein Truth Commission’s PR firm – Dini von Mueffling Consulting – for a personal employment issue,” Reeb and Hall said in a joint statement reported by KRQE and KOB.
They added that the firm’s decision to leave rather than provide additional information was especially troubling.
“The credibility of this committee is of the utmost importance, and unfortunately, recent events have jeopardized that credibility,” they said.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reported the firm’s responsibilities included “composing and editing press and media releases and responding to public inquiries” for the Epstein commission.
Romero says it was a mistake
Romero has acknowledged that the commission’s communications contractor became involved in her personal statement, but she insists it happened accidentally.
In an email obtained by KRQE, Romero told fellow commissioners she had separately worked with the House Democratic communications team on her resignation statement while also contacting the commission’s PR firm to prepare language intended to protect the commission’s integrity.
She said that amid a “flurry of emails and drafts,” she mistakenly approved the PR firm’s version.
“For this, I’m deeply sorry,” Romero wrote. “I want to be clear with you all: this was an individual error on my part and I take full responsibility for that mistake.”
In a subsequent public statement, Romero again apologized, saying she had been out of the country grieving the death of a loved one, making communications more difficult.
“This was unintentional and I sincerely apologize for the confusion created,” she said, according to Source NM and KRQE.
Romero also announced that the PR firm and commission were “parting ways.”
Republicans say explanation raises more questions
Reeb and Hall pushed back after Romero emphasized that commission statements normally require approval from all members.
According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, the Republicans stressed that they had not approved the statement involving Romero’s employment dispute and only learned about it after it appeared publicly.
“Her latest statement appears to be an attempt to rewrite the record after the fact and avoid responsibility for her own actions,” they said. “That only raises further concerns about her judgment and the credibility of this Commission.”
A House Democratic spokesperson said Romero was not claiming that the other commissioners had approved the statement.
Torrez-Romero feud still simmering
The controversy stems from Romero’s earlier resignation from the Santa Fe prosecutor’s office.
After Torrez clarified that state law bars sitting lawmakers from holding ongoing paid positions with district attorney offices, Romero initially accused the attorney general of disrupting the Truth Commission’s work.
Torrez’s office fired back forcefully.
“We appreciate her frustration at losing her part-time job at the District Attorney’s Office, but we reject any insinuation that our recently released guidance on that issue was motivated by anything other than the law,” his office said, according to KOB.
Torrez’s office then added a particularly pointed jab, saying it hoped Romero’s “newfound commitment to victims’ rights” would be evident in the coming legislative session, “not just on social media.”
Romero has since softened her position, saying Thursday, “I acknowledge and support the AG’s decision and encourage any other lawmakers in the same position to follow this guidance.”
Calls for Romero to step down intensify
Republicans are now arguing that the PR controversy, layered on top of the district attorney employment dispute, has damaged Romero’s ability to credibly lead the Epstein commission.
“Essentially, she created another set of victims, and in this case, the victims are the taxpayers of New Mexico,” Sen. Steve Lanier, R-Aztec, told KOB.
Republicans have also renewed questions about the commission’s interim report and the absence of gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland’s name, with Lanier alleging Romero removed it without other commissioners’ knowledge. Those allegations have previously been reported by KOB and remain part of the broader dispute over the commission’s handling of politically sensitive material.
For Romero, what began as a controversy over an allegedly unlawful government job has now spread into questions about taxpayer-funded communications, the resignation of the commission’s outside PR firm, multiple ethics complaints, and calls for her to leave both the commission and the Legislature.
Romero says she wants to move forward.
Republicans say the controversy is nowhere near over.
Democrat scum and their never ending grift…