{"id":29860,"date":"2026-08-06T13:29:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T08:29:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=29860"},"modified":"2026-08-06T13:29:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T08:29:42","slug":"new-mexico-sues-doj-todd-blanche-for-blocking-state-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=29860","title":{"rendered":"New Mexico sues DOJ, Todd Blanche for blocking state probe"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit_1500w\/rockcms\/2026-07\/260714-Todd-Blanche-ew-614p-f79de6.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p id=\"anchor-4d8eb3\" class=\"body-graf\">CEDAR CREST, N.M. \u2014 New Mexico\u2019s attorney general sued the U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday, accusing it of blocking the state from investigating sex crimes at Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/us-news\/epstein-lured-girls-zorro-ranch-new-mexico-investigation-jeffrey-rcna261370\" target=\"_blank\">sprawling ranch near Santa Fe.<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-c79b92\" class=\"body-graf\">The lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., said the department and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stonewalled New Mexico Attorney General Ra\u00fal Torrez\u2019s criminal investigation into Epstein and others, taking steps that \u201cactively harms victims and undermines the public interest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-0793f0\" class=\"body-graf\">The lawsuit seeking judicial intervention to force the federal government to turn over materials to New Mexico\u2019s investigators was filed the same day that the state released a report saying \u201cthose directly responsible for protecting New Mexicans relied on others to do their job,\u201d including federal prosecutors in New York.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-ffd194\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cThe federal prosecutors, though, never prioritized New Mexicans, focusing instead on Epstein\u2019s misdeeds in New York, Palm Beach, Florida, and the Virgin Islands, while leaving Epstein\u2019s offenses in New Mexico unexamined,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-f4ff8b\" class=\"body-graf\">Meanwhile, according to the Washington lawsuit, Torrez and his senior prosecutors \u201chave faced sustained resistance\u201d to the kind of information-sharing that had occurred in the past between state and federal investigators.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-2bace6\" class=\"body-graf\">In a statement, the Justice Department said it was not releasing some information the state requested because federal court orders ban disclosing \u201cvictim-identifying information carte blanche, and New Mexico has provided no lawful basis to justify such sweeping disclosures.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-9f6c28\" class=\"body-graf\">It said protecting victim privacy remains a top priority, though the Justice Department \u201cremains available to assist New Mexico\u2019s investigation consistent with the law and binding court orders.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-3e0b2c\" class=\"body-graf\">Torrez, in an interview with NBC News\u2019 Hallie Jackson, accused the Justice Department of hiding \u201cbehind the Epstein survivors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-7f7e38\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cWe have provided them with ample legal justifications\u201d for releasing the files, Torrez said. <\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-5a9baf\" class=\"body-graf\">The lawsuit said the Justice Department and Blanche were hiding information about Epstein and his co-conspirators when<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/us-news\/new-mexico-lawmakers-blast-subpoenas-epstein-investigation-rcna347971\" target=\"_blank\"> New Mexico<\/a> is one of the few jurisdictions that may still be able to hold Epstein\u2019s associates accountable or \u201cprovide some sense of justice to survivors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-5e919e\" class=\"body-graf\">In a videoconference call with reporters, Torrez said his office has made 10 separate requests for key information and has been ignored or denied.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-b3be73\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cWe have heard repeatedly they will cooperate and what our team has experienced is anything but cooperation,\u201d Torrez said.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-b7602f\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cTodd Blanche today with a stroke of a pen could grant us the access that he claimed,\u201d Torrez said. \u201cInstead they have decided to stonewall, to obstruct and to frankly conceal for whatever reason.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-499d12\" class=\"body-graf\">The lawsuit references a Justice Department prosecution memo that describes a sexual assault at Zorro Ranch by a woman who was not Epstein\u2019s former girlfriend and close associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-3aea2b\" class=\"body-graf\">Asked on \u201cHallie Jackson Now\u201d whether Torrez believes there is another woman who facilitated assaults in a similar way to Maxwell, he said, \u201cThe truth is we don\u2019t know at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-ac328c\" class=\"body-graf\">Torrez added that having access to all the files would put them in a better position to seek the answer to that and other questions. <\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-ea6423\" class=\"body-graf\">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.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-c88e16\" class=\"body-graf\">Maxwell is serving a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/justice-department\/ghislaine-maxwell-pleads-fifth-says-speak-fully-honestly-trump-grants-rcna258227\" target=\"_blank\">20-year prison sentence<\/a> after she was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking charges at a trial in Manhattan, where some of the witness testimony alleged that Epstein and Maxwell had sexually abused women at the New Mexico ranch.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-288ede\" class=\"body-graf\">Epstein purchased his sprawling estate, Zorro Ranch, 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.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-decc48\" class=\"body-graf\">The property was sold by Epstein\u2019s estate in 2023 to the family of Don Huffines, a Republican who was recently appointed state comptroller in Texas. In a February social media post on X, 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.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-059223\" class=\"body-graf\">In December, the Justice Department started releasing investigative records pertaining to Epstein and Maxwell in accordance with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/epstein-files\" target=\"_blank\">Epstein Files <\/a>Transparency Act.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-745157\" class=\"body-graf\">Complaints quickly arose about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/congress\/pam-bondi-tells-lawmakers-redaction-errors-made-epstein-files-release-rcna347525\" target=\"_blank\">shoddy redactions <\/a>and too many sealed materials from accusers and members of Congress who fought to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/justice-department\/justice-department-watchdog-probes-compliance-epstein-act-rcna341655\" target=\"_blank\">pass the transparency act.<\/a> Records that were released, including photographs, interview transcripts, call logs, court records and other documents, were either already public or heavily blacked out, and many lacked necessary context.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-182929\" class=\"body-graf\">In a joint statement Wednesday to NBC News, some of the survivors of Epstein\u2019s abuse said they stood behind Torrez\u2019s request for the files. <\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-5c8172\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cThe DOJ\u2019s argument that it won\u2019t hand over files in order to protect survivors\u2019 identities is laughable, when the DOJ has already revealed their names and personal information,\u201d the statement said. \u201cBy holding onto these files, Todd Blanche\u2019s DOJ is simply continuing to protect abusers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-2a9ebe\" class=\"endmark body-graf\"><em>If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rainn.org\/about-national-sexual-assault-telephone-hotline\" target=\"_blank\"><em>National Sexual Assault Hotline<\/em><\/a><em> at <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/tel:18006564673\" target=\"_blank\"><em>1-800-656-4673<\/em><\/a><em>. The hotline, run by the Rape, Abuse &amp; Incest National Network (RAINN), can put you in contact with your local rape crisis center. You can also access RAINN\u2019s online chat service at <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rainn.org\/get-help\" target=\"_blank\"><em>https:\/\/www.rainn.org\/get-help<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CEDAR CREST, N.M. \u2014 New Mexico\u2019s attorney general sued the U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday, accusing it of blocking the state from investigating sex crimes at Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s sprawling ranch near Santa Fe. The lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., said the department and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stonewalled New Mexico Attorney General&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_nbcnews-fp-1200-630,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-07\/260714-Todd-Blanche-ew-614p-f79de6.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29860"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29860\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}