New Mexico DOJ Reopens Epstein Ranch Case, Demands Unredacted Federal File
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez has ordered the reopening of a criminal investigation into allegations of illegal activity tied to Jeffrey Epstein’s former Zorro Ranch near Stanley, and the ranch’s new ownership is adding fresh scrutiny.
The move lands as newly released federal materials revive long-running claims about what happened at the remote property, and whether critical evidence was ever collected before the earlier inquiry was shut down.
In a Feb. 19 statement, the New Mexico Department of Justice said Torrez made the decision after reviewing information recently released by the U.S. Department of Justice, and that the state’s prior investigation was closed in 2019 at the request of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
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NMDOJ says special agents and prosecutors will seek immediate access to the complete, unredacted federal case file, and plan to work collaboratively with law enforcement partners and the “Epstein Truth Commission” established by the New Mexico Legislature.
“Revelations outlined in the previously sealed FBI files warrant further examination,” NMDOJ spokesperson Lauren Rodriguez said.
Reuters reported that federal officials did not immediately comment, and that one allegation emerging from the newly released materials involves claims about burials near the ranch that authorities have not publicly substantiated.
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The stakes are unusually high because a reopened state investigation can preserve remaining evidence, test jurisdictional boundaries, and clarify how much of Epstein’s alleged network activity intersected with New Mexico.
What comes next is a race for records and access: NMDOJ says it intends to move quickly, while lawmakers’ truth-commission work could create parallel public testimony and new leads.
For now, the central question is what the renewed investigation uncovers once investigators can review unredacted files and determine what evidence still exists.
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