近距离内射合集

SANTA FE 鈥� New Mexico鈥檚 revived push to investigate possible crimes that occurred at Jeffrey Epstein鈥檚 remote ranch near Stanley has escalated into a legal battle with President Donald Trump鈥檚 administration.

Attorney General Ra煤l Torrez filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the U.S. Department of Justice and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, seeking access to unredacted Epstein files.

During a news conference, Torrez said federal prosecutors have stonewalled the state鈥檚 efforts to obtain the files over the last three-plus months, despite at least 10 separate requests to do so.

鈥淲e have heard repeatedly they are going to cooperate, but what our team has encountered is anything but cooperation,鈥� Torrez told reporters.

Specifically, the 40-page lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeks to have a judge order the federal agency to produce the requested records. It also seeks attorney fees.

The lawsuit points out that New Mexico is one of the few jurisdictions that could still hold Epstein associates criminally accountable, and by doing so provide a sense of justice to survivors.

In response to the lawsuit, a DOJ spokesperson said Wednesday the agency is legally barred from releasing the requested Epstein files, in large part due to victim privacy concerns.

鈥淭he 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,鈥� the DOJ spokesperson said in a statement.

But Torrez said the law cited by the federal agency does not prohibit information sharing between the federal government and the state.

He also said that, in hindsight, he would have advised former New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas against halting a state investigation into activities that took place at Zorro Ranch. Balderas has said he agreed to stand down and turn over evidence to federal prosecutors in 2019 at their request.

Torrez announced in February that his office was reopening a criminal investigation into Epstein鈥檚 former Zorro Ranch. Investigators searched the 7,500-acre ranch in March, though the results have not been publicly disclosed.

The state鈥檚 top prosecutor acknowledged Wednesday he doesn鈥檛 know if the unredacted Epstein files might contain a 鈥渟moking gun鈥� that would bolster the state鈥檚 investigation, but said reams of fully redacted documents currently make it all but impossible to make such a determination.

Epstein purchased the Zorro Ranch from the family of former Gov. Bruce King in 1993. The property features a 33,339-square-foot mansion, pool, hot tub and other structures. It was sold for an undisclosed price in 2023 to the family of Texas real estate mogul Don Huffines, who has said he plans to convert it into a Christian retreat center.

Court documents and civil cases have accused Epstein of sexually assaulting teenage girls and women at the ranch, which was one of several properties owned by Epstein. The financier and convicted sex offender also reportedly had homes in New York, Florida, Paris and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

One plaintiff described the property in 2019 as being 鈥渓ike a park鈥� where teenage girls were encouraged to ride horses and ATVs and to use the pool and hot tub.

Epstein died in August 2019 in a New York City jail while he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in New York and Florida. Medical investigators determined at the time that he died by suicide.

However, public interest in the Epstein files has continued to simmer amid the testimony of victims and the federal government鈥檚 approach to releasing records.

Dan Boyd covers state government and politics for the Journal in Santa Fe. Follow him on X at @DanBoydNM or reach him via email at dboyd@abqjournal.com.