Truth-finding commission focused on Epstein's activities in New Mexico set to ramp up quickly

SANTA FE — A legislative truth-finding commission tasked with digging into Jeffrey Epstein's past ties to New Mexico will begin holding meetings this week, after winning approval Monday in the state House.

The chamber voted 62-0 to approve creation of the four-member commission, which features two Democrats and two Republicans.

Rep. Andrea Romero, D-Santa Fe, the lead sponsor of the measure creating the commission, House Resolution 1, said the panel would hold its first meeting Tuesday. She was one of the four House members appointed to the commission by House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, after the proposal won approval.

The other members of the investigatory subcommittee are Reps. Marianna Anaya, D-Albuquerque, Andrea Reeb, R-Clovis, and Bill Hall, R-Aztec. Reeb is a former prosecutor, while Hall is a retired FBI agent.

The commission will not have the ability to directly launch criminal investigations, but will be able to subpoena witnesses to testify and coordinate with law enforcement agencies. Information gathered will be posted publicly, Romero added, and a report will be presented by the end of this year.

"We will look at the gaps in the law and enforcement that allowed these crimes to take place and fix it," she said during Monday's debate.

The idea of a temporary fact-finding commission was first floated last summer, with Romero likening it to the U.S. House committee formed to investigate the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

The idea has picked up steam amid ongoing intrigue over the allegations of sexual abuse of underage girls at Zorro Ranch in Santa Fe County.

Epstein purchased the Zorro Ranch from the family of former Gov. Bruce King in 1993. The property is located near Stanley on more than 7,500 acres of land and featured 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, the Santa Fe New Mexican recently reported.

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 Virgin Islands.

One plaintiff described the property in 2019 as being “like a park” where teenage girls were encouraged to ride horses and ATVs, and to use the pool and hot tub.

During Monday's debate, Rep. John Block, R-Alamogordo, described the Zorro Ranch legacy as a "stain" on New Mexico.

"As New Mexicans, we should all be ashamed this took place in our state," Block added.

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 he died by suicide.

Even before his death, New Mexico state officials had investigated Epstein’s actions, though no criminal charges were ever filed in the state.

Former Attorney General Hector Balderas launched an investigation in 2019 that included interviews with survivors. In addition, state Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard in 2019 voided grazing leases obtained by the Zorro Ranch on nearby state trust land, claiming the leases had been used to buy privacy.

Just last week, Garcia Richard asked the state and federal departments of justice to reopen their investigations after the release of an email alleging that two girls' bodies might be buried in the hills near the property.

In addition, New Mexico's current Attorney General Raúl Torrez has investigated the role different banks and financial services companies played in failing to stop the alleged sexual abuse at Zorro Ranch. Torrez announced in 2023 a $4.95 million pledge by Deutsche Bank to fight human trafficking in New Mexico.

In all, the state Department of Justice collected $15 million from banks associated with Epstein to support efforts to combat human trafficking.

But those actions have not satisfied some lawmakers, who believe the full extent of Epstein's activities in New Mexico has still not been adequately examined.

"It seems like Zorro Ranch got the least amount of attention (of all Epstein's properties) and didn't appear to be taken as seriously," said Rep. Stefani Lord, R-Sandia Park, during Monday's debate.

Meanwhile, the plan to investigate the activities at Zorro Ranch and publicly post findings could lead to renewed scrutiny of how much former New Mexico state officials knew about Epstein's sex crimes.

Former Gov. Bill Richardson, in particular, faced questions about his relationship with Epstein before Richardson's death in 2023.

A spokesperson for Richardson said in 2019 the former two-term governor, congressman, diplomat and Cabinet official in the Clinton administration had only visited Epstein's ranch once, in 2012. But files released this year by the U.S. Department of Justice appear to contradict that claim. Specifically, the files indicate Richardson arranged to meet with Epstein numerous times both before and after Epstein's 2008 conviction in Florida on sex charges.

The truth-finding commission's work this year would be supported by a $2 million appropriation in a state budget bill that's still awaiting final approval.

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.