New Mexico Attorney General Threatens to Sue DOJ Over Epstein Files

The United States Department of Justice has refused to release unredacted files regarding Jeffrey Epstein to New Mexico officials, citing federal law, court orders, and privacy protections for victims and witnesses. The refusal has sparked a confrontation between federal authorities and New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez, who accused the department of deliberately obstructing a criminal investigation into Epstein's alleged abuse of women and girls at Zorro Ranch south of Santa Fe.

Torrez, who reopened the criminal probe in February 2026, claims that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico provided only 31 pages of redundant documents on July 10, which he dismissed as unusable photocopies of old news stories. In a letter released July 14, Torrez argued that the lack of records erodes the foundation for potential prosecutions and hinders survivors. He has set a July 31 deadline for the requested materials and has not ruled out a lawsuit to compel their release.

The DOJ countered that releasing millions of unredacted documents would violate law and privacy protections, questioning whether the state attorney general is suggesting the agency break federal law. This dispute coincides with a parallel investigation by the New Mexico state legislature's Truth Commission, which has subpoenaed U.S. Attorneys' Offices in three states and the U.S. Virgin Islands to examine why previous probes failed to result in charges. The situation also follows scrutiny regarding whether the Trump administration complied with the Epstein Files Transparency Act passed in November.