New Mexico has filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and acting attorney general Todd Blanche, accusing them of "stonewalling" the state's criminal investigation into the late financier Jeffrey Epstein's activities at his remote Zorro ranch. The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, follows the DoJ's apparent failure to meet a July 31 deadline to provide information related to alleged historical abuse of girls and young women at the 10,000-acre property located about 30 miles south of Santa Fe.
Raúl Torrez, New Mexico's attorney general, had warned of possible legal action if the DoJ did not comply. He reopened the investigation in February 2026 after the Zorro ranch was referenced extensively in recent releases of the so-called Epstein files. Torrez emphasized the need for full transparency to advance the investigation initially opened by his predecessor, Hector Balderas, in February 2019. That earlier probe was later paused at the request of federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, who led the original Epstein investigation.
Unlike other Epstein properties linked to his sex-trafficking conspiracy, such as those in Palm Beach, New York, and his private Caribbean island, the Zorro ranch has seen no confirmed federal search. Epstein purchased the ranch in 1993 from the estate of Bruce King, a former Democratic governor of New Mexico. Numerous photographs of men and young girls taken at the ranch in subsequent years appeared in the latest Epstein files.
The US attorney’s office for the District of New Mexico stated it had "substantively responded" to Torrez’s request on June 30 by emailing 31 documents. However, Torrez reported on July 14 that federal prosecutors had informed him they "will not cooperate" with the New Mexico investigation.
The government was required to disclose information about Epstein’s activities under a transparency act signed by former President Donald Trump in November 2025. Nonetheless, Democrats and critics have accused Todd Blanche of withholding many files related to the case.
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