Feds asked New Mexico to halt its Epstein probe

Federal prosecutors in 2019 asked New Mexico officials to halt their investigation into sex trafficking activities at Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch, agreeing to share information that potentially could have led to criminal charges here.

New Mexico lived up to its end of the agreement, ending its investigation and providing police reports, recorded witness interviews and other investigative records to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, former Attorney General Hector Balderas said last week.

Balderas, who served as attorney general from 2014 to 2022, said he is unaware that federal investigators provided any information to New Mexico officials that could have led to criminal prosecutions here.

Cooperation between the two agencies "was a one-way relationship," he said.

Records released in January by the U.S. Department of Justice related to the Epstein investigation, including letters and emails between Balderas' office and federal prosecutors, shed light on New Mexico's decision to scrap its investigation.

The request by federal prosecutors essentially "gutted" New Mexico's investigation into sex trafficking at Epstein's 7,500-acre Zorro Ranch located 30 miles south of Santa Fe, Balderas said. Balderas now is president of Northern New Mexico College in Española.

"We provided information to them to strengthen their prosecution," he said. Prosecutors made assurances they would provide findings to New Mexico investigators. "They were making the representation that they were going to prosecute with a multijurisdictional, multistate focus."

Balderas' office also sent a letter in 2020 urging federal prosecutors to seize control of Zorro Ranch to preserve evidence, records show. Balderas said he also offered to assist serving search warrants at the ranch but never received a response and has no reason to believe prosecutors acted on the requests.

Federal prosecutors asked New Mexico to halt its investigation to avoid "risks of parallel investigations creating inconsistent statements" that defense attorneys could exploit, Balderas said.

None of the investigative records provided by New Mexico appear to be among the more than 3 million pages of documents released last month by the U.S. Department of Justice.

"In light of the recent disclosures, I remain very concerned that they did not disclose or share more information that they had in their possession," Balderas said of federal investigators. He called the failure to work with state and state investigators "a tactical mistake."

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York did not respond last week to email messages seeking comment.

New Mexico ended its investigation in July 2019, shortly before Epstein died by suicide in August 2019 while in custody facing federal sex trafficking charges.

Reopening investigation

Attorney General Raúl Torrez recently announced that the New Mexico Department of Justice is reopening its investigation into Epstein's Zorro Ranch. Torrez said in a Feb. 18 statement that "revelations outlined in the previously sealed FBI files warrant further investigation."

Torrez also said he plans to work with the legislative truth-finding commission created by the House earlier this month to investigate activities as Zorro Ranch. The four-member commission will not have the ability to directly launch criminal investigations, but will be able to subpoena witnesses, hear testimony and coordinate with law enforcement agencies.

The House members appointed to the commission are state Reps. Andrea Romero, D-Santa Fe; Marianna Anaya, D-Albuquerque; Andrea Reeb, R-Clovis; and Bill Hall, R-Aztec. Reeb is a former prosecutor and Hall is a retired FBI agent.

Torrez's chief of staff, Lauren Rodriguez, said Friday that the New Mexico Department of Justice has not received any correspondence from federal prosecutors in New York since Torrez took office in January 2023.

Balderas said he supports both Torrez's decision to revive the state investigation and lawmakers' formation of the truth-finding commission.

Epstein ran a complex, international sex trafficking operation that should have involved attorneys general in several states, including New Mexico, Florida and New York, where Epstein had homes, Balderas said. "The investigation should have been broadened, not narrowed," he said.

Email records

Maureen Comey, then an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, wrote in an email Sept. 8, 2019, that she had secured an agreement from Balderas' office to halt the state's investigation into Zorro Ranch. The name of the email's recipient is redacted. 

"In essence, they agreed to cease any investigation into sex trafficking and share whatever they had gathered to date regarding sex trafficking activity with our office," wrote Comey, who headed the criminal case against Epstein. Comey also worked on the prosecution of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's co-defendant, who was convicted in 2022 of sex trafficking and other crimes and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

"We agreed that they were free to proceed with whatever other investigations (unrelated to sex trafficking) they may have concerning Epstein and told them that at the conclusion of our case, we would pass along any information we may have gathered about state crimes that were committed in their jurisdiction," she wrote. 

On Sept. 17, 2019, about a month after Epstein's death, then-Chief Deputy Attorney General Clara Moran sent a letter to federal prosecutors that included an attachment containing "police reports, recorded witness interviews, correspondence among state agencies and documents related to Epstein's leasing of state public lands."

New Mexico canceled a lease by an Epstein-owned company of 1,243 acres of state trust land adjacent to Zorro Ranch that dated to his purchase of the ranch in 1993. Investigators suspected Epstein obtained the lease to enhance privacy at the ranch, Balderas said.

Moran, now a 2nd Judicial District Court judge, confirmed last week that the Attorney General's Office was asked to halt its investigation but declined to discuss details.

Request to seize Zorro Ranch

In July 2020, Balderas' office sent a letter to federal prosecutors urging them to seize Zorro Ranch to preserve criminal evidence such as files and video recordings. The letter, signed by Moran, urged federal prosecutors to use a civil forfeiture process to obtain the ranch.

"We believe that this ranch was used by Epstein and others to facilitate the commission and prolonged concealment of his trafficking of children, such that seizure may be pursued in conjunction with the pending criminal prosecution of Epstein's associates and co-conspirators," Moran wrote.

Epstein purchased Zorro Ranch near Stanley from the family of former Gov. Bruce King in 1993 and built a 33,339-square-foot mansion, with a landing strip and other structures. Epstein's estate sold the ranch to Texas real estate mogul Don Huffines in 2023 for an undisclosed price. Huffines reportedly has pledged to cooperate.

Balderas said he is unaware if investigators considered his recommendation to seize the ranch property. "Because we provided evidence earlier, we wanted to make them aware that it was our belief that the property had been used for criminal purposes," he said.

Balderas said he also offered local law enforcement assistance serving search warrants at the property. "We were never informed whether they obtained search warrants or searched the property," he said.

"I was calling for them to seize those assets in 2020 because I determined at that point that there was enough information that potential criminal acts have occurred there," he said. "The assets should have been seized, and I continue to take that position today."