New Mexico Sues the DOJ And Todd Blanche Over Epstein Records (8/6/26)

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Epstein Chronicles

Episode: New Mexico Sues the DOJ And Todd Blanche Over Epstein Records
Host: Bobby Capucci
Date: August 6, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode focuses on the escalating legal battle between the State of New Mexico and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding access to Jeffrey Epstein-related investigative records, particularly those connected to alleged crimes at Epstein’s Zorro Ranch. Bobby Capucci dives into the lawsuit New Mexico has filed against the DOJ and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, unpacking the implications for Epstein survivors, public transparency, and the broader fight for justice.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Lawsuit: New Mexico vs. DOJ & Todd Blanche

• Escalation: New Mexico’s Attorney General, Raul Torres, is suing both the DOJ and Acting AG Todd Blanche, claiming they have actively blocked the state’s investigation into sex crimes at Epstein’s Zorro Ranch.
  • “It’s juicily ironic we have the DOJ who keeps telling us how transparent they are, how they want to get to the bottom of what happened… but they won’t even work with the Attorney General’s Office of New Mexico.” (01:09)
• Alleged Stonewalling: The DOJ and Blanche are accused of stonewalling, resisting informational requests, and undermining both justice for victims and the public interest.
  • “That’s exactly what they did. The SDNY, the DOJ, they took control… they made the state of New Mexico back off.” (01:49)

Federal vs. State Responsibility & Criticism

• Zorro Ranch Never Raided: Capucci highlights the government’s inexplicable decision not to raid Epstein's New Mexico ranch, unlike aggressive raids in other high-profile cases.
  • “There’s not one single scenario that should have left Zorro Ranch unrated. The second all those other houses were raided, Zorro Ranch should have been rated too. But instead, what do we see?” (02:23)
• Comparison to Other Investigations: The DOJ’s handling is contrasted with recent high-profile law enforcement raids (like those involving Diddy), emphasizing inconsistent federal priorities and transparency.
• Fault on Both Sides: Capucci criticizes New Mexico officials for being too deferential and not pursuing their own investigation more vigorously but ultimately places greater blame on the DOJ for taking over the case and blocking state access.

Transparency, Accountability, and Victims’ Rights

• Transparency Act Shortfalls: Though some documents have been released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, survivors and members of Congress complain about excessive redactions and incomplete disclosure.
  • “Records that were released… were either already public or heavily blacked out. And many lacked necessary context. Well, that's the whole point. Flood the zone, baby. Confuse people.” (13:56)
• Victim Advocacy: Epstein survivors issue a joint statement supporting New Mexico’s demands for transparency, asserting that DOJ’s stated concerns for survivor privacy are not credible given previous leaks.
  • “The DOJ's argument that it won't hand over the files in order to protect survivors' identities is laughable when the DOJ has already revealed their names and personal information…” (14:46, survivors’ statement relayed by Capucci)

Details from the Lawsuit and Recent Reports

• Legal Maneuvering: The lawsuit requests judicial intervention to compel the DOJ to share investigative materials with state prosecutors.
• Repeated Requests Ignored: AG Torres claims his office has made ten formal requests for information, to be met with either silence or denials.
  • “We have heard repeatedly that they’ll cooperate, and what our team has experienced is anything but cooperation.” (09:11, quoting AG Torres)
• Potential New Perpetrators: A DOJ memo describes a sexual assault at Zorro Ranch involving a woman facilitator other than Ghislaine Maxwell, raising unanswered questions about the breadth of Epstein's network.

The Fate of Zorro Ranch and the Importance of Local Investigation

• Ranch’s History and Sale: Epstein’s New Mexico estate was sold in 2023 to the family of Don Huffines, who rebranded it as a Christian retreat—eliciting skepticism and criticism from Capucci.
  • “A Christian retreat, huh? That’s exactly where I want to send my kids to go to a retreat… How about you raise that place to the ground and then never build anything there again?” (12:33)

Broader Implications

• Capucci underscores the systemic issues with DOJ transparency and the recurring experience of survivors and journalists being stonewalled in attempts to obtain information and accountability.
  • “They have no desire to do the right thing… if you want to release the files and you want to be transparent, well, release the files and be transparent. It is not difficult. They’ve made it much more difficult than it has to be, and that’s because they’re covering it up.” (07:28)
• There is a sense of entrenched bureaucratic resistance to accountability at multiple levels of government.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On DOJ’s Lack of Transparency:
  • “If they're not going to give fellow law enforcement the documents, what makes you think they're going to give them to us?” (01:20)
• On State-Federal Cooperation:
  • “Again, they don’t want people to know… so that the federal government can control the narrative and make sure that blast radius doesn’t expand.” (06:10)
• On Investigative Frustrations:
  • “Par for the course. Just like they want you to file freedom of information acts that they have no desire or they have no plans on fulfilling. Rinse and repeat.” (09:45)
• Victims’ Statement Relayed:
  • “The DOJ's argument that it won't hand over the files in order to protect survivors' identities is laughable…” (14:46)
• On Zorro Ranch as a Christian Retreat:
  • “Can we go sing Kumbaya in Jeffrey Epstein’s office? Like what? What are you even doing here, buddy?” (12:48)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:00 – Episode start, overview of New Mexico suing DOJ and Todd Blanche
• 02:23 – Discussion of DOJ’s preferential (and suspicious) treatment of Epstein’s estates (esp. Zorro Ranch)
• 06:10 – Analysis of narrative control and federal government motives
• 09:11 – Attorney General Torres’ statements about repeated denied requests
• 12:33 – Epstein’s ranch history, sale, and Capucci’s criticism of its new use
• 13:56 – Critique of DOJ informational releases, survivor frustrations
• 14:46 – Joint statement from survivors on DOJ’s excuses for withholding files

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Conclusion

Bobby Capucci provides a passionate, detail-driven critique of both the DOJ’s and New Mexico's handling of the Epstein investigation, centering survivor voices and emphasizing the urgent need for accountability and transparency. The episode highlights the continued resistance Epstein survivors and independent investigators face, the ongoing legal efforts to force federal transparency, and the broader implications for public trust in the justice system.

For more details and additional case documents, listeners are pointed to the episode’s description box.

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Transcript

[Podcast Host]

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up everyone and welcome to another episode of the Epstein Chronicles. The DOJ and the state of New Mexico have been engaging in a back and forth battle over Epstein transparency over the past few months. While now it's escalated to the point where New Mexico is suing the doj. And not only are they suing the doj, but they're also suing Todd baby Billy Blanch on top of it. And I find it juicily ironic we have the DOJ who keeps telling us how transparent they are, how they want to get to the bottom of what happened, how they want justice, but they won't even work with the Attorney General's Office of New Mexico to get to that point. So if they're not going to give fellow law enforcement the documents, what makes you think they're going to give them to us? Especially considering the behavior that we've seen exhibited from the Department of Justice and the administration. So how could anyone think or believe that we're going to get transparency here if they don't trust other law enforcement in New Mexico to have these files? Do you really think they trust you? Today's article was published by NBC News and the headline new Mexico sues DOJ and Todd Blanch, alleging they blocked the Epstein probe. This article was authored by the Associated Press and Quirky Cymasco. New Mexico's Attorney general sued the U. S. Justice Department on Wednesday, accusing it of blocking the state from investigating sex crimes at Jeffrey Epstein sprawling ranch near Santa Fe. And that's not even in dispute. That's exactly what they did. The sdny, the doj, the. They took control. And according to the evidence that we have available to us, they made the state of New Mexico back off. Now we can criticize the state of New Mexico for not having the courage to tell them to get. But the truth is the Justice Department is at fault here. There's not one single scenario that should have left Zoro Ranch unrated. The second all those other houses were raided, Zora Ranch should have been rated too. But instead, what do we see? Well, Jeffrey Epstein getting arrested at the airport. No cameras, no press, no media there. Now compare that to what happened with Diddy. And look, I'm certainly not taking up for Diddy, right? Dude's a reprehensible piece of. But the facts are the government didn't make their case and they tried to throw the whole kitchen sink at Diddy. Right? They charged him with rico, everything. They raided all of his houses, every last one of them. But Jeffrey Epstein doesn't have the New Mexico ranch rated why never been an explanation, by the way. Nobody's ever deemed it fit to explain to you, the people paying the bills, why it all went down the way it went down. And then if you ask too many questions, you're called a traitor, you're called a conspiracy theorist, and you're now the enemy. At least according to the man in charge. The lawsuit in federal court in Washington D.C. said the department and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanch stonewalled New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torres's criminal investigation into Epstein and others. Taken steps that actively harms victims and undermines the the public interest. That's all a fact too. And a lot of the problems the Justice Department's having are self inflicted. I mean you can only on the people so many times before the people say enough is enough. And I think that we've reached that point. The lawsuit seeking judicial intervention to force the federal government to turn over material to New Mexico investigators was filed the same day that the state released a report saying the those directly responsible for protecting New Mexicans relied on others to do their job, including federal prosecutors in New York. And that was my big problem at the time. That's why I was so critical of what was going on in New Mexico. You can't leave it up to the feds. You have to run your own parallel investigation. Now of course that doesn't mean you step on the dick of the federal government. That's not what you do. But you still shake trees you talk to people. You have a local feel, you have a local flavor. You know the area, you know how the people act. Talk to them. Open an investigation. Find out if any girls in Santa Fe or Albuquerque were hurt. I know difficult to do your job right? A lot easier later on down the road to point some fingers. So as much as I want to blame the federal government, and believe me, I do, there's some blame to be had in New Mexico as well. 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. And of course, you have to ask yourself why. Why wouldn't they care about New Mexico the same way they cared about those other places? And don't even try and tell me there was no evidence. There certainly was. We've heard about it, we've seen it, and the mountain keeps growing higher each day. Meanwhile, according to the Washington lawsuit, Torres 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. Again, they don't want people to know, and the whole entire plan was to take it from the state's hands so that the federal government can control the narrative and make sure that blast radius doesn't expand, 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. Just a bunch of gobbledygook, right? They have no desire to do the right thing. They have no desire to follow the law. They have no desire to tell you the truth. If they did, we wouldn't have to go through this whole entire rigmarole, would we? If you want to release the files and you want to be transparent, well, release the files and be transparent. It is not difficult. They've made it much more difficult than it has to be, and that's because they're covering it up. Torres, in an interview with NBC's Haley Jackson, accused the Justice Department of hiding behind the Epstein survivors. We have provided them with ample legal justification for releasing the files, torres said. And I'm sure they have. But I don't think it matters what kind of evidence they show up with. The Justice Department's gonna do what it's done throughout this whole entire ordeal, cover shit up. 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 justice to the survivors. Well, I think that in all the states that this went down, that there is a path to justice if the states want to get involved. We know that they have dual sovereignty, and we know that the states can open whatever investigation they want as long as there's evidence. And, and my friends, we know there's plenty of that. In a video conference call with reporters, Torres said his Office has made 10 separate requests for key information and has been ignored or denied. We have heard repeatedly that they'll cooperate, and what our team has experienced is anything but cooperation, torres said. Par for the course. Just like they want you to file freedom of information acts that they have no desire or they have no plans on fulfilling. Rinse and repeat. Oh, this is an ongoing investigation. You're not privy to this. Sorry. We're going to hide this information from you, the taxpayer. And now not only are they hiding stuff from regular citizens, they won't even provide this information to the state of New Mexico to help them with their own investigation into Epstein. How much more evidence do you need? Like, do you need a neon sign that's flashing saying cover up? Todd Blanch today with a stroke of a pen could grant us the access that he claimed. Torres said instead, they have decided to stonewall, to obstruct and to frankly conceal for whatever reason. Oh, we know what reason. We know the COVID up is alive and well and that shit's being managed by, by Todd baby Billy Blanche. The lawsuit references a Justice Department prosecution memo that describes a sexual assault at Zorro Ranch by a woman who was not Epstein's former girlfriend. And close associate Glenn Maxwell. Asked on Hallie Jackson now whether Torres believes there's another woman who facilitated assaults in a similar way to Maxwell. He said, the truth is we don't know at this point. Well, it sounds like they're talking about Sarah, Kellen or Nadia, but obviously until we have information one way or the other, that's speculation. Hey, everybody.

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Torres added that having access to all the files would put them in a better position to seek the answers to that and other questions. Epstein took his own life, allegedly in 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. Maxwell is serving a 20 year prison sentence and after she was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking charges at trial in Manhattan, where some of the witnesses and testimony alleged that Epstein and Maxwell had sexually abused women at the New Mexico ranch. Yeah, no, let me just clear it up for everybody, okay? Wherever Jeffrey Epstein went, people got abused. Whether that's in Interlockin, Wonder, whether that's in France, whether that's in New York, whether that's in Florida, New Mexico, the moon. Wherever this dude went, a trail of tears followed. Epstein purchased his sprawling estate, Zorro ranch in Stanley, New Mexico, a sparsely populated ranching community about 30 miles south of Santa Fe in 93 from former Democratic Governor Bruce King, and built a hilltop mansion with a private airstrip and helipad. And there's no doubt that that property was set up for clandestine behavior. What that clandestine behavior is, I don't know. Could be a whole host of things. One thing I'm sure of is that people were being abused at this property. Beyond that, everything's up in the air, but nothing's off the table. The property was sold by Epstein's estate in 2023 to the family of Don Huffington, a Republican who was recently appointed state comptroller in Texas. In a February social media post on X, Huffeen said the property had been renamed San Rafael Ranch after a saint associated with healing, and that his family plans to operate a Christian retreat here. A Christian retreat, huh? That's exactly where I Want to send my kids to go to a retreat? Can we go sing Kumbaya in Jeffrey Epstein's office? Like what? What are you even doing here, buddy? How about you raise that place to the ground and then never build anything there again? In December, the Justice Department started releasing investigative records pertaining to Epstein and Maxwell in accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Complaints quickly arose about shoddy redactions and and too many sealed material from accusers and members of Congress who fought to pass the Transparency Act. 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. Well, that's the whole point. Flood the zone, baby. Confused people. Dump a bunch of shit that's not real so that it overshadows the stuff that is. In a joint statement on Wednesday to NBC News, some of the survivors of Epstein's abuse said they stood behind Torres request for the files. The DOJ's argument that it won't hand over the files in order to protect survivors identities is laughable when the DOJ has already revealed their names and personal information, the statement said. By holding onto these files, Todd Blanch's DOJ is simply continuing to protect abusers. Well, that's what they're doing. I'm sorry to say it, and I know some people don't want to hear it, but the truth is the truth. And if the Department of Justice wanted to be transparent, well, I would think that now would be the time. So like usual, we'll see where it all goes and we'll see how it ends up and how far it progresses in court. If it does progress that far. And once we have some more information one way or the other, we'll get it added to the catalog. All the information that goes with this episode can be found in the description box.

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