New Mexico filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the U.S. Department of Justice and acting attorney general Todd Blanche, alleging that the federal government is stonewalling a criminal investigation into the activities of late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The investigation focuses on Epstein's Zorro ranch, located approximately 30 miles south of Santa Fe.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez claims that top officials in the Justice Department are actively hurting the state's investigation by refusing to fully aid the process and withholding key unredacted documents. According to Torrez, the Department of Justice ignored 10 separate requests for the Zorro Ranch files and has the power to unseal them with a stroke of a pen.
The lawsuit seeks access to these unredacted files to further the investigation into the alleged historical abuse of girls and young women at the ranch. Torrez had previously stated he was considering legal action if the federal government failed to share the information by a July 31 deadline.