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New Mexico Sues the DOJ Over Epstein Files — Here’s What’s Really Going On
New Mexico’s attorney general has taken the Trump administration’s Justice Department to federal court, accusing it of blocking a state investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s former New Mexico property.
The Lawsuit
On Wednesday, August 5, 2026, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed suit against the U.S. Department of Justice and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, seeking unredacted files related to Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch, a sprawling property near Santa Fe where Epstein built a mansion and private runway before his estate sold it in 2023.
Torrez’s office says it has requested the records ten separate times since reopening its Epstein investigation in February, without receiving the material it needs. The lawsuit accuses the DOJ of “obstruction” and argues the agency’s refusal violates the Administrative Procedure Act, unlawfully interfering with the state’s authority to investigate crimes committed within its own borders.
New Mexico also claims the DOJ reneged on a 2019 agreement in which the state paused its own Epstein probe in exchange for continued information-sharing from federal investigators.