New Mexico AG accuses Trump DOJ of obstructing active Epstein criminal investigation
"The Department of Justice is impeding an active criminal investigation into Epstein's Zorro Ranch. This comes from New Mexico's own attorney general in a public letter, a letter he sent to Todd Blanch and the Department of Justice saying that they are causing irreparable harm to his criminal investigation and that the unreasonable delay to hand over requested unredacted material is unreasonable by any rule."
About this episode
Dena Dahl of the MeidasTouch Network reports on escalating tensions between New Mexico's Attorney General and the Trump administration's Department of Justice over an active criminal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch. The New Mexico AG has sent a public letter to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch accusing the DOJ of causing irreparable harm to his criminal investigation by refusing to provide unredacted materials despite five written requests, phone calls, and in-person meetings over 130 days. The AG revealed that in 2019, at the express request of federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, New Mexico halted its own investigation and turned over its complete investigative file—including police reports, witness interviews, and evidence related to Epstein's use of New Mexico public lands—to facilitate federal prosecution of Epstein's co-conspirators. That federal investigation produced no results and no notification to New Mexico about additional survivors, as promised. Now attempting to restart the investigation that was shut down by Trump's first-term DOJ, the state AG says the current administration is making it impossible to complete the work by withholding the very materials New Mexico provided in good faith years ago. The episode also covers parallel obstruction by the DOJ regarding the Epstein Transparency Act, which requires public release of Epstein-related documents. Katie Fang of MeidasTouch filed a lawsuit to enforce the act, and a federal judge ruled the DOJ must produce documents to the public, not just to Fang, after the DOJ failed to comply with the law's requirements. The judge rejected DOJ arguments that no one had standing to sue under the act.
Key takeaways
- New Mexico Attorney General publicly accused Trump's DOJ of obstructing his active criminal investigation into Epstein's Zorro Ranch by withholding unredacted materials for over 130 days despite repeated requests.
- In 2019 New Mexico handed over its complete Epstein investigative file to federal prosecutors at their request and halted its own probe, but the federal investigation produced no results or notifications to the state.
- The AG stated the DOJ's delay is causing irreparable harm to the investigation and making it harder to gather evidence and witness testimony as time passes.
- Federal Judge Sullivan ruled in Katie Fang's lawsuit that the DOJ must release Epstein documents to the public under the Epstein Transparency Act, rejecting DOJ claims that no one had standing to sue.
- The DOJ under Todd Blanch has failed to comply with the Epstein Transparency Act's requirements to identify grounds for redactions and produce documents as mandated by law.
- New Mexico's investigation was originally shut down in 2019 by Trump's first-term DOJ, and the state is now attempting to restart the criminal probe that was never completed.
- Multiple parallel investigations into Epstein activities in New Mexico are being hindered, including a legislative Truth Commission and the Attorney General's criminal investigation.