1. United States
2. Va.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge your support for Attorney General Raúl Torrez's decision to reopen the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch and the legislative truth-finding commission examining activities at the property. The recently released Department of Justice documents from January 2026 reveal troubling failures in the federal handling of this case that demand state-level accountability. In 2019, federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York requested that New Mexico halt its sex trafficking investigation to avoid "risks of parallel investigations creating inconsistent statements." Former Attorney General Hector Balderas complied, ending the state investigation in July 2019 and providing police reports, recorded witness interviews, and extensive investigative materials to federal prosecutors. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maureen Comey confirmed in a September 8, 2019 email that New Mexico agreed to cease its investigation in exchange for information about state crimes at the conclusion of the federal case. That information never came. Balderas stated the federal request essentially "gutted" New Mexico's investigation, and the cooperation was entirely "one-way." In July 2020, his office urged federal prosecutors to seize the 7,500-acre ranch through civil forfeiture to preserve criminal evidence including files and video recordings, but received no response. None of the investigative records New Mexico provided appear among the more than 3 million pages released by the Justice Department in January 2026. The four-member legislative commission, which includes Representatives Andrea Romero, Marianna Anaya, Andrea Reeb, and Bill Hall, has authority to subpoena witnesses and coordinate with law enforcement. This state-level investigation is essential because federal prosecutors failed to share information that could have led to criminal prosecutions in New Mexico's jurisdiction. I urge you to ensure this commission receives adequate resources and support to conduct a thorough investigation. The victims of crimes committed at Zorro Ranch deserve answers that the federal government failed to provide.