New Mexico sues the DOJ and President Donald Trump’s attorney general pick Todd Blanche for withholding records tied to Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch
New Mexico has sued Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and the U.S. Department of Justice, seeking unredacted Jeffrey Epstein investigative files tied to the state’s criminal probe into Epstein’s Zorro Ranch property in Santa Fe County.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, accuses the DOJ of unlawfully withholding records that could help identify victims, witnesses and additional criminal conduct connected to the ranch. The 40-page complaint also accuses the department of “stonewalling” New Mexico’s investigation.
Zorro Ranch, which reportedly appears thousands of times in the Epstein files, has been identified by survivors as a location where they were subjected to trafficking and sexual abuse.
Torrez accuses DOJ of stonewalling
During a videoconference with reporters, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said his office had made 10 requests for information that were either denied or ignored.
“We have heard repeatedly they will cooperate and what our team has experienced is anything but cooperation,” Torrez said.
“Todd Blanche today with a stroke of a pen could grant us the access that he claimed,” Torrez said. “Instead they have decided to stonewall, to obstruct and to frankly conceal for whatever reason.”
The lawsuit cites a Justice Department prosecution memo describing a sexual assault at Zorro Ranch involving a woman who was not Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend and associate.
The complaint also alleges that Torrez and senior state prosecutors “have faced sustained resistance” to information-sharing that had previously occurred between state and federal investigators.
DOJ responds
A Justice Department spokesperson said in an emailed statement that “the Epstein Files Transparency Act does not require and the protective orders in place in the Southern District of New York do not permit, disclosure of victim-identifying information carte blanche and New Mexico has provided no lawful basis to justify such sweeping disclosures.”
The spokesperson added that “protecting victim privacy remains a top priority for the Department and neither Touhy requests nor a desire to cooperate outweighs that privacy,” while saying the department remained available to assist New Mexico’s investigation within the law.
What New Mexico is seeking
New Mexico reopened its investigation into Zorro Ranch in February and conducted the first known law enforcement search of the property the following month.
The complaint alleges federal prosecutors asked New Mexico to pause its investigation in 2019 and promised to share information once their work was complete. According to the lawsuit, that information was never provided.
The state is asking a federal judge to declare the DOJ’s refusal unlawful and order the department to release the requested unredacted records. Alternatively, it wants the DOJ to reconsider the request under its own regulations.
The lawsuit follows Torrez’s warning nearly a month earlier that New Mexico would pursue “all available legal remedies” if the department did not provide unredacted Epstein files by the end of July.
The complaint argues the DOJ’s refusal violates the Administrative Procedure Act and unlawfully interferes with New Mexico’s authority to investigate and prosecute crimes within the state.
Lawsuit filed alongside state report
New Mexico filed the lawsuit the same day it released a report detailing preliminary findings from its investigation into Epstein and Zorro Ranch.
Separately, a bipartisan state legislative committee investigating Epstein said it had confirmed reports involving five women and minors whom Epstein allegedly abused at the ranch and identified 30 other potential victims in an interim report.
The committee, known as the Survivors’ Truth Commission, said DOJ redactions in records released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act have made it difficult to confirm additional reports.
The commission emphasized that its interim report does not reach conclusions or offer investigative recommendations because its work remains ongoing.
Thousands of references to New Mexico
According to the lawsuit, DOJ-released files contain more than 13,000 references to Zorro Ranch and 5,000 references to New Mexico as locations where victims were allegedly trafficked, groomed and assaulted.
Survivors including Chauntae Davies and the late Virginia Giuffre have said Zorro Ranch was among the places where they were sexually assaulted.
Investigation reopened after FBI file disclosures
Torrez ordered the state’s criminal investigation into alleged illegal activity at Zorro Ranch reopened on February 19, 2026, after reviewing information released by the DOJ.
The earlier investigation had been closed in 2019 at the request of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Torrez said information from previously sealed FBI files warranted renewed scrutiny.
New Mexico conducted its first known law enforcement search of the property the following month.
“At the direction of Attorney General Torrez, the New Mexico Department of Justice initiated a search this morning of the Zorro Ranch property previously owned by Jeffrey Epstein, with the New Mexico State Police and Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office providing assistance,” a department spokesperson said March 10, 2026.
New Mexico State Police were joined by Sandoval County Fire and Rescue’s K-9 unit during searches conducted March 9 and 10. Four cadaver dogs — Shamus, Gingersnap, Greta and Mini — searched the property while drones mapped the site. No human remains have been publicly reported.
Blanche’s confirmation remains pending
Blanche’s nomination advanced from the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party-line vote, clearing a key procedural hurdle. His confirmation remains under scrutiny, however, as some Republicans have previously raised concerns about DOJ policies, Donald Trump‘s anti-weaponization fund and the handling of Epstein-related records.
The property at the center of the dispute
Epstein’s estate sold Zorro Ranch in 2023, with proceeds going toward creditors. The property was purchased by the family of Don Huffines, a Republican candidate for Texas state comptroller.
Reports have differed on the ranch’s exact size.