The fight is not just about document access. State officials say time is eroding witness memories, evidence trails and any chance of accountability tied to Epstein’s New Mexico property.
New Mexico’s top prosecutor says the state’s renewed investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch has run into a federal wall.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez is accusing the U.S. Justice Department of withholding unredacted records he says are needed to determine whether New Mexico can bring a prosecution tied to Epstein’s former property near Santa Fe.
The fight over the files
Torrez made the allegation in a June 30 letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche that was publicly released Thursday, according to CNN. In it, he said his office has been waiting more than 130 days since its initial request for records connected to Epstein and Zorro Ranch.
The New Mexico attorney general’s office says it has tried repeatedly to get access. Torrez described six attempts to engage the federal agency, including a February 13 document request and an effort last month to arrange an in-person meeting while he was in Washington, D.C.
His argument is simple and blunt: if federal officials have information that could support a state case, New Mexico says it cannot afford to wait indefinitely.
Torrez warned in the letter that each day without the records weakens the foundation for any possible prosecution. He pointed to witnesses becoming harder to find, memories fading and physical or documentary evidence becoming more difficult to authenticate over time.
Why Zorro Ranch is central
Zorro Ranch was Epstein’s sprawling New Mexico property near Santa Fe. It has long been part of the public record around Epstein because some survivors have said they were abused there.
CNN reported that survivors including Chauntae Davies and the late Virginia Giuffre have identified the ranch as one of the places where they said they were sexually assaulted. Those accounts are part of why the property remains a focus for state officials years after Epstein’s death.
New Mexico reopened its criminal probe in February after the Justice Department released millions of Epstein-related files. Among the records was a 2019 email received by a local radio host alleging that two foreign girls had been buried somewhere in the hills outside the property on orders connected to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
That burial allegation remains unverified. CNN noted it is also unclear how fully law enforcement investigated it before the latest renewed interest in Epstein’s New Mexico ties. State authorities searched Zorro Ranch in March as part of the criminal investigation.
Redactions are now the pressure point
The dispute lands in the middle of a wider fight over how the Justice Department has handled Epstein files. Congress forced the department to release records through a bipartisan measure late last year, but lawmakers from both parties criticized heavy redactions in the material that followed.
The department’s internal watchdog is reviewing the redaction process, according to CNN. That review matters because the same questions troubling members of Congress are now showing up in New Mexico’s state investigation: who gets to see unredacted records, under what conditions and how quickly?
Some members of Congress have been allowed to view unredacted documents, but not in a way they describe as especially usable. Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said lawmakers had to travel to a Justice Department annex, use one of four DOJ-owned computers and search through a difficult software system while DOJ staff looked over their shoulders.
Redactions can serve legitimate purposes, including protecting victims, witnesses and ongoing investigations. But over-redaction or slow-walking access can also frustrate accountability, especially for state prosecutors who say they need full records to evaluate possible charges.
New Mexico says time matters
Torrez’s letter makes the delay itself the central issue. His office is not only saying it wants documents; it is saying the passage of time could change whether a case is possible at all.
That concern is especially sharp in older abuse and trafficking investigations. Potential witnesses may have moved, changed names, lost contact with investigators or become unwilling to relive traumatic events. Records may exist but be difficult to verify without context. Leads that once seemed fresh can go cold.
A state prosecution would require far more than public suspicion or political pressure. Prosecutors would need admissible evidence, reliable witness testimony and a clear theory of what state laws may have been violated in New Mexico.
That is why unredacted federal files could be valuable. They may contain names, dates, interview records, travel references, financial details or prior investigative leads that do not appear in public releases.
A parallel search for answers
The criminal investigation is not the only New Mexico effort focused on the ranch. The state also has a special legislative panel called the New Mexico Survivor’s Truth Commission, which is examining Zorro Ranch and the broader record surrounding Epstein’s presence in the state.
Last month, that committee subpoenaed multiple banks, several U.S. attorney’s offices and the offices of Torrez and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for information, according to CNN.
The commission is separate from any criminal prosecution. Its work is aimed more at public accountability and fact-finding, while the attorney general’s office must assess whether criminal charges can be supported.
Together, the two tracks show how unresolved Epstein questions are still producing official action years later. Zorro Ranch is no longer just a symbol of Epstein’s reach; it is a live investigative subject for New Mexico officials.
What remains unclear
The Justice Department has not publicly provided the kind of response Torrez says his office is seeking. CNN reported that it reached out to the department for comment.
Several questions remain unanswered. It is not clear exactly which records New Mexico wants, how much of the material is currently redacted, whether DOJ believes any files cannot be shared and whether unredacted access would meaningfully change the state’s ability to bring a case.
It is also not clear whether the evidence gathered so far points toward chargeable conduct under New Mexico law. Torrez’s letter signals urgency, but urgency alone does not prove a prosecutable case exists.
Still, the public fight is significant. A state attorney general is accusing the federal government of blocking access to records that may determine whether survivors connected to Zorro Ranch ever see a New Mexico courtroom. For now, the central question is not only what happened at Epstein’s ranch, but who is allowed to see the files that might answer it.
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