New Mexico Launches Probe Into Epstein’s Ranch

New Mexico is preparing a deep investigation into what happened at Jeffrey Epstein’s remote Zorro Ranch. On Monday, state lawmakers unanimously approved a $2.5 million “truth commission,” described as the first full-scale inquiry into alleged trafficking and sexual abuse at the 7,600-acre property, about 30 miles south of Santa Fe, according to Reuters.

The bipartisan, four-member panel will have subpoena power and is expected to hear from survivors, local residents, and anyone with knowledge of activities at the ranch. Epstein allegedly abused girls and women there for years but was never charged in connection with the site.

The commission will examine who visited the ranch and which officials may have known about, enabled, or participated in abuse. Interim findings are expected by July, with a final report due by the end of the year. Lawmakers also aim to identify gaps in state law that may have allowed Epstein to operate with little oversight. “He was basically doing anything he wanted in this state without any accountability whatsoever,” said Democratic state Rep. Andrea Romero, who co-sponsored the measure. She added that testimony could be used in future prosecutions. While the statute of limitations may have passed in some cases, Romero told Axios that changes in state law could help survivors “see justice.”

The investigation follows the US Justice Department’s release of millions of pages of Epstein-related records, which reference visits to Zorro Ranch and link Epstein to two former Democratic governors and a former attorney general of New Mexico. Epstein purchased the ranch in 1993 from former Gov. Bruce King and used it for decades, bringing in guests and “masseuses,” according to an FBI interview with the ranch manager cited in the newly released files.

One of Epstein’s most prominent accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, said in a deposition and her memoir that she was repeatedly abused at the ranch. She also alleged that Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell instructed her to give former Gov. Bill Richardson a “massage,” which she said was a code for a sexual encounter. Richardson has denied the claim as “completely false.”

The current owner of the ranch is Texas businessman and politician Donald Huffines, a Trump-aligned Republican, who purchased it privately through an LLC at public auction in 2023, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican. Following reports of the new ownership, Huffines announced plans to convert the property into a Christian retreat center.

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