New Mexico has launched what lawmakers describe as the first full investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s activities at Zorro Ranch, where the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is accused of trafficking and sexually assaulting girls and women.
A unanimous House vote on Monday created a truth commission with subpoena power to examine events at the 7,600-acre ranch south of Santa Fe.
A four-member bipartisan committee will seek testimony from survivors of alleged sexual abuse at the ranch. Legislators are also urging local residents to testify to identify ranch guests and state officials who may have known what was going.
The legislation could pose risks to any additional politicians linked to Epstein in the Democratic-run state, as well as scientists, investors and other high-profile individuals who visited the ranch.
Authorities said that findings will be delivered in July and a final report by the end of the year.
State Representative Andrea Romero said Epstein operated “without any accountability whatsoever.” Testimony could support future prosecutions.
The move follows the release of millions of Epstein-related files, intensifying political pressure on President Donald Trump’s administration.
Epstein, who died in 2019, was never charged in New Mexico, though civil suits accuse him of allegedly abusing minors at the ranch as early as 1996.
Former attorney general Hector Balderas paused a 2019 probe at the request of federal prosecutors. Current attorney general Raul Torrez has assigned a special agent to follow new leads.
Advocates say New Mexico was overlooked. Attorney Sigrid McCawley said “many of the survivors had experiences in New Mexico,” including Virginia Giuffre.
The Justice Department referred questions to the FBI, which declined to comment.
Epstein bought the ranch in 1993 from former governor Bruce King. It was sold in 2023 to Texas businessman Don Huffines, who has said he will cooperate with investigators, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper.
Ranch manager Brice Gordon told the FBI in 2007 that Epstein flew in guests and “masseuses,” and hired local therapists from Santa Fe spa Ten Thousand Waves which denied providing referrals.
A 2016 unsealed deposition shows Giuffre alleging Ghislaine Maxwell instructed her to give former governor Bill Richardson a “massage.” His representative previously called the claim “completely false.”
Emails in the files show Epstein kept ties with academics and consultants. Joshua Ramo said he visited the ranch once in 2014 for lunch and met Epstein about 14 times in New York.
"I deferred to the due diligence of the institutions involved, assuming that his presence signalled he had been appropriately vetted," Ramo, in a statement, said of his ranch visit and other meetings with Epstein.
"I feel a deep sense of grief for the survivors of his crimes," Ramo added.
Epstein contributed to several Democratic politicians. A former New Mexico attorney general Gary King and son of Bruce King, used a charter flight partly paid by Epstein during a 2014 gubernatorial run. He did not comment.
Civil suits portray the ranch as a site of unchecked alleged abuse for decades. The $2.5 million inquiry aims to close gaps in state law and determine how Epstein was able to operate in New Mexico for so long.
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Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for the 7th of May, covering the latest developments you need to know.
A federal judge in New York released a handwritten document described as a suicide note purportedly written by late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, nearly seven years after his death in a Manhattan jail cell. The document was released late Wednesday (6 May).
British lawmakers on Tuesday voted against launching an inquiry into whether Prime Minister Keir Starmer misled Parliament over his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the U.S.
Former close aide to Keir Starmer admitted on Tuesday he was “wrong” to back the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the U.S., amid mounting political pressure.
Mexico and South Africa meet in Thursday’s World Cup opener in Mexico City, with both teams approaching the match from very different positions but facing their own pressures.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry says 19 citizens have been repatriated following a deadly drone attack on two cargo ships in the Sea of Azov on 5 June.
A Sudanese man has been arrested over a knife attack in Belfast that left a man seriously injured and prompted calls online for a protest after footage of the incident circulated widely on social media.
Iran and Israel said on Monday (8 June) they had halted attacks on each other following an appeal from U.S. President Donald Trump, as Axios reported that Trump had privately told Benjamin Netanyahu “be careful, or you will be on your own very soon”.
Ukraine's military said it struck a Russian "shadow fleet" tanker in the Black Sea as part of ongoing efforts to disrupt Moscow's energy and logistics networks. The move underscores Kyiv's focus on targeting maritime assets it says are used to bypass sanctions on Russian oil exports.
A Canadian mother has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its chief executive Sam Altman, alleging that the company's ChatGPT chatbot encouraged her daughter's suicidal thoughts and failed to intervene before her death.
The ambassadors of France, Germany and Britain have attended a meeting at Russia’s Foreign Ministry, raising questions about a possible ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv, or at least the resumption of peace talks.
British Defence Minister John Healey has resigned from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government over a disagreement about defence spending.
Pope Leo has arrived in the Canary Islands for the final leg of his visit to Spain, where he is set to meet migrants who survived dangerous Atlantic crossings and renew his call for greater global compassion towards people on the move.
Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing will attend a video conference hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday (12 June) to discuss global economic imbalances, marking a rare high-level engagement between China and G7 nations ahead of next week's summit in France.
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