{"id":6769,"date":"2026-08-05T18:00:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T18:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=6769"},"modified":"2026-08-05T18:00:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T18:00:11","slug":"new-mexico-sues-justice-department-for-stonewalling-epstein-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=6769","title":{"rendered":"New Mexico sues justice department for \u2018stonewalling\u2019 Epstein investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"3514ef24-7214-4123-a80a-7c8343452271\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"aerial view of a large property\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/7a98dfc5dea29f5b4349895b281f4c2f7213e26e\/1_0_2887_2309\/master\/2887.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"371.90335988915825\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Zorro Ranch, formerly owned by Jeffrey Epstein near Stanley, New Mexico.<\/span> Photograph: Zeitview Zeitview\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"3514ef24-7214-4123-a80a-7c8343452271\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Zorro Ranch, formerly owned by Jeffrey Epstein near Stanley, New Mexico.<\/span> Photograph: Zeitview Zeitview\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">New Mexico sues justice department for \u2018stonewalling\u2019 Epstein investigation<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gm5ptv\">\n<p>Filing by attorney general Ra\u00fal Torrez comes after DoJ appears to have ignored deadline for key Epstein ranch files<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">New Mexico filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Justice and acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, on Wednesday for \u201cstonewalling\u201d its criminal investigation into the activities of the late financier and sex offender <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/jeffrey-epstein\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Jeffrey Epstein<\/a> at a remote ranch in the state.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Ra\u00fal Torrez, the New Mexico attorney general, had said he was mulling the possibility of legal action if the justice department did not share with him by 31 July information about the alleged <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/feb\/08\/epstein-files-new-mexico-ranch\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">historical abuse<\/a> of girls and young women at Epstein\u2019s Zorro ranch about 30 miles south of Santa Fe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Wednesday\u2019s filing, seen by the Guardian, delivers on that threat after the justice department appeared to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/aug\/01\/doj-new-mexico-epstein-documents\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">ignore last Friday\u2019s deadline<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"e98b5af5-0108-4e82-b861-9205de87f34c\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-1oq85qr\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-3 | 3\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1rx5ky9\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-uyoh2p\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/aug\/01\/doj-new-mexico-epstein-documents\" class=\"dcr-f35c0u\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-vvxpdt\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6z6e7\">\n<div class=\"dcr-zh9rih\">DoJ appears to ignore New Mexico deadline for key Epstein ranch files <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-oj13vq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-ef9nua\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The lawsuit, filed in the US district court for the district of Columbia, alleges that Blanche and his department had \u201cstonewalled\u201d the state investigation that Torrez <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/nation\/new-mexico-reopens-probe-of-alleged-illegal-activity-at-epsteins-former-zorro-ranch\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">reopened in February<\/a> after the 10,000-acre Zorro property was mentioned thousands of times in recent releases of the so-called Epstein files.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The government was compelled to release what it knew about Epstein\u2019s activities and crimes by a transparency act signed by Donald Trump in November, but Democrats and critics have accused Blanche of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/feb\/02\/new-epstein-files-democrats-call-cover-up\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">covering up<\/a> many of the files.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Torrez said he wanted to establish what had taken place at Zorro, which, unlike other properties prominent in Epstein\u2019s sex-trafficking conspiracy in Palm Beach, New York, and his private Caribbean island, saw no confirmed federal search take place.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Epstein died in jail in New York in August 2019 while awaiting trial on child sex-trafficking charges.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">He bought the ranch in 1993 from the estate of the Democratic former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/newmexico\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">New Mexico<\/a> governor Bruce King, and numerous photographs of men and young girls there taken in the years thereafter featured in the latest Epstein files release.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Additionally, a succession of survivors had previously given testimony about sexual and physical abuse they were subjected to at the ranch by Epstein and others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Torrez\u2019s complaint asks for a declaration that Blanche and the justice department acted illegally in refusing to hand over any evidence it had about events at Zorro. It wants the court to direct the department to comply with the Epstein transparency law and so-called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.taf.org\/touhy101\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Touhy regulations<\/a> governing how federal agencies handle requests for official documents during litigation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">It also seeks costs and \u201csuch other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Torrez said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NewMexicoDOJ\/status\/2077142657583939798\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">14 July letter<\/a> to Blanche that he would \u201cpursue all available legal remedies without further notice\u201d if the 31 July deadline passed. The attorney general said he had made \u201crepeated, documented, good-faith efforts to obtain the unredacted investigative records in the DoJ\u2019s custody\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The US attorney\u2019s office for the district of New Mexico, in a statement to the Guardian last week, said it had \u201csubstantively responded\u201d to Torrez\u2019s request on 30 June by emailing 31 documents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">But Torrez said the papers were mostly old news clippings and heavily redacted pages of little use to state investigators.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">He said full transparency was needed to advance the criminal investigation initially opened by Hector Balderas, his predecessor as New Mexico attorney general, in February 2019, and later mothballed at the request of federal prosecutors at the southern district of New York, which led a previous Epstein investigation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Those same prosecutors told Torrez last month that they \u201cwill not cooperate\u201d in the New Mexico investigation, he said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NewMexicoDOJ\/status\/2077142657583939798\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">social media post<\/a> on 14 July.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The Guardian has contacted the justice department for comment on Wednesday\u2019s filing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\"><em>More details soon \u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/jeffrey-epstein\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Jeffrey Epstein<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/trump-administration\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Trump administration<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/newmexico\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">New Mexico<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-politics\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US politics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=New%20Mexico%20sues%20justice%20department%20for%20%E2%80%98stonewalling%E2%80%99%20Epstein%20investigation&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/aug\/05\/new-mexico-sues-doj-epstein-investigation?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Faug%2F05%2Fnew-mexico-sues-doj-epstein-investigation&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/aug\/05\/new-mexico-sues-doj-epstein-investigation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1kq7f60\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Zorro Ranch, formerly owned by Jeffrey Epstein near Stanley, New Mexico. Photograph: Zeitview Zeitview\/Reuters View image in fullscreen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":6771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6769"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6769\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6772,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6769\/revisions\/6772"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}