New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez has sued the U.S. Department of Justice, accusing it of withholding unredacted Jeffrey Epstein files that his office says are essential to a state criminal investigation.
DR reports that the lawsuit targets the Justice Department and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. Torrez accuses federal authorities of obstructing the state’s inquiry into suspected sexual abuse and human trafficking at Epstein’s former Zorro Ranch in New Mexico.
According to NBC News, the case was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C. The state has repeatedly requested unredacted documents, but says it has received only material that was already public or so heavily redacted that it had limited investigative value.
The complaint asks a court to order the department to hand over unredacted federal investigative files on Epstein and possible co-conspirators linked to the ranch. NBC News reports that the state is seeking immediate judicial intervention while its investigation is underway.
Justice Department cites victim privacy
The Justice Department rejects the criticism. It says federal court orders bar the release of information that could identify victims, and that it has already shared significant material with New Mexico, per NBC News.
Torrez disputes that explanation. He says the department is hiding behind Epstein survivors and using victim privacy as a pretext for withholding evidence. CNN reports that he accuses the department of concealing information about Epstein and his co-conspirators.
There is no independent public account of exactly what the department has provided to the state. The full text of the lawsuit and a formal departmental response were not publicly available at the time of reporting.
Reopened investigation
New Mexico reopened a previously closed investigation into activities at Zorro Ranch in February 2026. The move followed the release of large volumes of Epstein case documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, according to The Guardian.
The lawsuit states that the released documents contain more than 13,000 references to Zorro Ranch and about 5,000 references to New Mexico. The documents describe the state as a location where people were recruited, sexually abused or trafficked.
Torrez argues that New Mexico may be one of the few remaining U.S. jurisdictions able to prosecute people who assisted in the alleged crimes at the ranch. The Guardian attributes that position to state statutes of limitation and other legal factors.
The suit was filed the same day a state-appointed commission published a preliminary report on the Epstein case. As reported by NBC News, the report criticizes federal authorities for prioritizing investigations in New York, Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands while possible crimes in New Mexico received far less scrutiny.
The scale of the released files has drawn attention well beyond the United States, including from the Danish translator who worked on an Epstein victim’s memoir.
