State of New Mexico sues Justice Department and Todd Blanche, saying they blocked its Epstein probe

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 sprawling 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 Raúl Torrez's criminal investigation into Epstein and others, taking steps that  actively harms victims and undermines the public interest. 


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

The federal prosecutors, though, never prioritized New Mexicans, focusing instead on Epstein's misdeeds in New York, Palm Beach, Florida, and the Virgin Islands, while leaving Epstein's offenses in New Mexico unexamined,  the report said.

Meanwhile, according to the Washington lawsuit, Torrez and his senior prosecutors  have faced sustained resistance  to the kind of information-sharing that had occurred in the past between state and federal investigators.

In a statement, the Justice Department said it was not releasing some information the state requested because federal court orders ban disclosing  victim-identifying information carte blanche, and New Mexico has provided no lawful basis to justify such sweeping disclosures. 

It said protecting victim privacy remains a top priority, though the Justice Department  remains available to assist New Mexico's investigation consistent with the law and binding court orders. 

The lawsuit said the Justice Department and Blanche were hiding information about Epstein and his co-conspirators when New Mexico is one of the few jurisdictions that may still be able to hold Epstein's associates accountable or  provide some sense of justic

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