NM Sues DOJ, Blanche Over Epstein Probe08/06 06:18

   

   CEDAR CREST, N.M. (AP) -- New Mexico's attorney general sued the U.S. 
Department of Justice on Wednesday, accusing it of blocking the state from 
investigating sex crimes at Jeffrey Epstein's former ranch near Santa Fe.

   The lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., said the department and 
acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stonewalled New Mexico Attorney General 
Ral Torrez's criminal investigation into Epstein and others, taking action 
that "harms victims and undermines the public interest."

   The lawsuit sought judicial intervention to force the federal government to 
turn over materials to New Mexico's investigators. It was filed the same day 
that the New Mexico House of Representatives released a report saying "those 
directly responsible for protecting New Mexicans relied on others to do their 
job," including federal prosecutors in New York.

   Epstein took his own life in a federal jail in New York City in August 2019 
after he was denied bail on sex trafficking charges lodged against him when he 
was arrested a month earlier.

   Epstein's former girlfriend and close associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, is 
serving a 20-year prison sentence after her 2021 conviction on sex trafficking 
charges in New York. Witness testimony at Maxwell's trial alleged she and 
Epstein had sexually abused women at his New Mexico ranch.

   Justice Department says it's following court orders to protect victims

   According to New Mexico's lawsuit, state prosecutors "have faced sustained 
resistance" to the kind of information-sharing common between state and federal 
investigators.

   The Justice Department said in a statement it was not releasing some 
information the state requested because of federal court orders that ban 
disclosing victim-identifying information.

   "New Mexico has provided no lawful basis to justify such sweeping 
disclosures," the agency said. It said protecting victim privacy remains a top 
priority and the Justice Department "remains available to assist New Mexico's 
investigation consistent with the law and binding court orders."

   The lawsuit claims the Justice Department and Blanche were hiding 
information about Epstein and his co-conspirators when the state is one of the 
few jurisdictions that may still be able to hold Epstein's associates 
accountable or "provide some sense of justice to survivors."

   New Mexico's attorney general said his office made 10 requests for key 
information that were ignored or denied.

   "We have heard repeatedly they will cooperate and what our team has 
experienced is anything but cooperation," Torrez told reporters in a video call.

   State calls on Blanche to fix things with 'a stroke of the pen'

   "Todd Blanche today with a stroke of a pen could grant us the access that he 
claimed," Torrez said. "Instead they have decided to stonewall, to obstruct and 
to frankly conceal for whatever reason."

   The interim report released by the New Mexico Survivors' Truth Commission in 
part blamed federal prosecutors in Manhattan for a dearth of information about 
Epstein's activities in New Mexico. The commission, established in February by 
state lawmakers, said federal officials focused on Epstein's misdeeds in New 
York, Palm Beach, Florida, and the Virgin Islands, while leaving his offenses 
in New Mexico unexamined.

   But the commission also cited evidence gathered by federal prosecutors in 
New York to describe women who recounted suffering sexual abuse from Epstein at 
his Zorro Ranch.

   At Maxwell's trial, Annie Farmer, now a psychologist, testified she was 16 
when she agreed to go to the ranch, where Maxwell touched her breast during a 
massage and Epstein unexpectedly crawled into bed and pressed himself against 
her.

   A spokesperson for federal prosecutors in New York sent along the Justice 
Department statement on Epstein in response to a request for comment.

   Coinciding with the release of the report, about 50 members of the media and 
the public gathered in a legislative hearing room at the New Mexico state 
capitol on Wednesday to hear about the commission's preliminary findings.

   Epstein accuser tells commission about abuse

   Rachel Benavidez, the lone speaker in the "survivor testimony" portion of 
the meeting, alleged that Epstein sexually abused her at Zorro Ranch. Benavidez 
said Epstein's connections with powerful people in the state allowed him to 
"roam free here in New Mexico unchecked" after he was convicted of sex crimes 
elsewhere.

   "We don't need more paper files sitting as artifacts," Benavidez said, 
urging the commission to question "co-conspirators" who helped Epstein evade 
accountability in the state.

   Benavidez has said in interviews that she was brought to the ranch to work 
as a massage therapist beginning in the late 1990s. She said Wednesday that 
Epstein exploited "the one thing that meant everything to me at that time, my 
hard earned career."

   A group of Epstein victims and victims' family members accused Blanche in a 
statement of "continuing to protect abusers" by withholding the information 
sought by New Mexico.

   "The DOJ's argument that it won't hand over files in order to protect 
survivors' identities is laughable when the DOJ has already revealed their 
names and personal information," they said.

   Epstein purchased his expansive property in Stanley, New Mexico, a sparsely 
populated ranching community about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Santa Fe, 
in 1993 from former Democratic Gov. Bruce King and built a hilltop mansion with 
a private airstrip and helipad.

   Epstein's ranch has been renamed 'San Rafael Ranch'

   The property was sold by Epstein's estate in 2023 to the family of Don 
Huffines, a Republican recently appointed Texas' state comptroller. In a 
February social media post, Huffines said the property has been renamed San 
Rafael Ranch after a saint associated with healing and that his family plans to 
operate a Christian retreat there.

   The Justice Department in December started releasing investigative records 
pertaining to Epstein and Maxwell in accordance with the Epstein Files 
Transparency Act.

   Accusers and members of Congress who fought to pass the transparency act 
quickly complained about shoddy redactions and too many sealed materials. 
Records that were released, including photographs, interview transcripts, call 
logs, court records and other documents, were either already public or heavily 
blacked out, and many lacked necessary context.