New Mexico’s attorney general sued the U.S. Department of Justice, accusing it of blocking the state from investigating sex crimes at Jeffrey Epstein’s former ranch near Santa Fe.

Background

The lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., said the department and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stonewalled New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez’s criminal investigation into Epstein and others, taking action that ‘harms victims and undermines the public interest.’

Epstein took his own life in a federal jail in New York City in August 2019 after he was denied bail on sex trafficking charges lodged against him when he was arrested a month earlier.

Justice Department Response

The Justice Department said in a statement it was not releasing some information the state requested because of federal court orders that ban disclosing victim-identifying information.

The lawsuit claims the Justice Department and Blanche were hiding information about Epstein and his co-conspirators when the state is one of the few jurisdictions that may still be able to hold Epstein’s associates accountable or ‘provide some sense of justice to survivors.’

New Mexico’s attorney general said his office made 10 requests for key information that were ignored or denied.

Epstein’s Ranch

Epstein purchased his expansive property in Stanley, New Mexico, a sparsely populated ranching community about 30 miles south of Santa Fe, in 1993 from former Democratic Gov. Bruce King and built a hilltop mansion with a private airstrip and helipad.

The property was sold by Epstein’s estate in 2023 to the family of Don Huffines, a Republican recently appointed Texas’ state comptroller. In a February social media post, Huffines said the property has been renamed San Rafael Ranch after a saint associated with healing and that his family plans to operate a Christian retreat there.

Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.