New Mexico Sues Justice Department and Acting AG Todd Blanche Over Blocked Epstein Investigation

Aug 5, 2026

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed a federal lawsuit against the US Department of Justice and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on August 5, 2026, accusing them of blocking the state's investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch. The DOJ argues that federal court orders prevent the release of victim-identifying information. The lawsuit comes as Blanche faces a Senate confirmation vote for the permanent attorney general role, intensifying scrutiny over the handling of Epstein records.

New Mexico lawsuit against DOJ

▪New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez had set a July 31, 2026 deadline for the US Department of Justice to share Jeffrey Epstein records, warning of legal action if the deadline was ignored.
▪New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Justice and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on August 5, 2026.
▪The lawsuit filed by New Mexico on August 5, 2026, seeks a court order declaring that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and the US Department of Justice acted illegally in refusing to hand over Jeffrey Epstein records.
▪New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez's office alleges that federal officials agreed in 2019 to cooperate with state investigators once the federal Jeffrey Epstein investigation concluded, but that cooperation never materialized.
▪A lawsuit filed by New Mexico in the US District Court in Washington, D.C., on August 5, 2026, accuses the US Department of Justice of unlawfully withholding unredacted records related to Jeffrey Epstein's activities at Zorro Ranch.

Federal document withholding justification

▪New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez characterized the 31 documents provided by the federal government on June 30, 2026, as mostly old news clippings and heavily redacted pages.
▪A group of Jeffrey Epstein's victims and their families disputed the US Department of Justice's privacy argument, calling it laughable because the department had already revealed survivors' names.
▪The US Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico stated it had substantively responded to New Mexico's request on June 30, 2026, by emailing 31 documents.
▪The US Department of Justice stated that New Mexico provided no lawful basis to justify the sweeping disclosures of protected victim-identifying information.
▪The US Department of Justice rejected New Mexico's allegations, stating that federal court orders prohibit the disclosure of victim-identifying information.

Zorro Ranch investigation

▪New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez stated that federal law enforcement failed to ever conduct a physical search of Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch or attempt to seize the property.
▪New Mexico reopened its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch in February 2026 after newly released files contained thousands of references to the property and state.
▪The 10,000-acre Zorro Ranch near Stanley, New Mexico, was purchased by Jeffrey Epstein in 1993 and sold by his estate in August 2023 to the family of businessman Don Huffines.
▪Jeffrey Epstein accuser Rachel Benavidez testified to a New Mexico state commission on August 5, 2026, that Epstein sexually abused her at Zorro Ranch starting in the late 1990s.

New Mexico House report findings

▪An interim report by the New Mexico Survivors' Truth Commission on August 5, 2026, blamed federal prosecutors in Manhattan for failing to examine Jeffrey Epstein's offenses in New Mexico.
▪The New Mexico Survivors' Truth Commission's report cited evidence gathered by federal prosecutors in New York describing women who suffered sexual abuse from Jeffrey Epstein at Zorro Ranch.
▪The New Mexico House of Representatives released an interim report on August 5, 2026, stating that state officials responsible for protecting citizens relied on others to do their job.

Blanche Senate confirmation context

▪Some Republican senators have expressed concerns about the US Department of Justice's handling of Jeffrey Epstein-related records, which could intensify scrutiny during acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's confirmation.
▪The lawsuit against acting Attorney General Todd Blanche comes as his nomination to serve as permanent attorney general moves through the U.S. Senate.
▪Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's nomination advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party-line vote, but his path to confirmation remains under close watch.