New Mexico has filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for failing to deliver unredacted investigative records related to Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch that were promised in 2019.
According to the complaint by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, federal prosecutors directed the state to halt its investigation into Epstein on July 23, 2019, and pledged to share findings. The state complied with that directive but has received no substantive records as promised.
The lawsuit states that New Mexico’s investigation—launched in early 2019—could identify victims, witnesses, co-conspirators, and additional criminal activity at Zorro Ranch. Federal authorities provided only redacted materials already available through public portals, copies of local news coverage, and no new investigative content. Specifically, on July 10, 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico delivered a production consisting of 31 pages of previously released material.
New Mexico reopened its investigation in February after federal prosecutors had previously instructed it to “stand down.” The state conducted the first law-enforcement search of Zorro Ranch on March 9 with cooperation from current owners—the family of former Texas state Senator Don Huffines, who acquired the property in 2023 and renamed it San Rafael Ranch.
The complaint highlights that federal investigators never searched Zorro Ranch despite an FBI email from August 2019 acknowledging “one victim who may have been raped at the NM residence” without probable cause to conduct a search. New Mexico also cites evidence from its Epstein Survivors’ Truth Commission, which found at least five women and girls were abused at Zorro Ranch between 1996 and 2012.
DOJ officials have repeatedly cited victim privacy protections and court orders as barriers to sharing records. The state argues these restrictions do not prevent law enforcement access and notes that DOJ has allowed all members of Congress to inspect unredacted Epstein materials in a secure reading room.
New Mexico seeks a federal court order compelling the DOJ to provide unredacted records necessary for its ongoing criminal investigation into crimes allegedly committed within the state’s borders.