How Federal Prosecutors Shut Down New Mexico’s Epstein Probe

Summary

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The Epstein Chronicles

Episode: How Federal Prosecutors Shut Down New Mexico’s Epstein Probe

Host: Bobby Capucci
Date: May 23, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, investigative podcaster Bobby Capucci explores how federal prosecutors intervened to halt New Mexico’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s activities at Zorro Ranch, forcing state officials to defer to federal authorities. Capucci breaks down the timeline, motivations, and consequences of this decision, highlighting new revelations from public records and former New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas. He argues that the federal intervention resulted in a narrowly focused and ultimately inadequate investigation, constituting a part of a wider pattern of cover-ups surrounding the Epstein scandal.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Federal Intervention in State Investigations

• Federal “Takeover” Revealed

  • Capucci details how after Epstein’s 2019 arrest, state investigations—specifically New Mexico’s probe into Zorro Ranch—were ordered to stand down by federal prosecutors.
    • “The federal government killed these state investigations and made the states kick the case to the federal government.” (01:00)
  • Former NM Attorney General Hector Balderas confirms New Mexico halted its investigation and turned over all evidence to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY).

• Motives Behind Federal Involvement

  • Capucci questions why the feds insisted on controlling all investigative threads, contrasting it with Epstein’s 2008 plea deal, which remained at the state level.
  • Speculation about Protecting Assets:
    “We know now, or at least we can speculate to a pretty good degree that Jeffrey Epstein was being protected because he was an asset. So the government had to protect their asset, right?” (02:10)
  • The host repeatedly accuses federal authorities of seeking to control the narrative and limit exposures, rather than pursue justice.

Details From the Albuquerque Journal Report

• Unequal Cooperation

  • Revealed emails and letters show that information sharing from state to federal authorities was one-way.
  • Balderas: “Cooperation between the two agencies was a one way relationship.” (04:50)
  • The feds did not reciprocate by providing New Mexico with information relevant to potential state charges.

• Disappearing Evidence and Narrow Focus

  • Despite New Mexico offering its investigative records (police reports, interviews, recordings), these do not show up in the 3 million pages released by the DOJ recently.
  • No evidence that Zorro Ranch was ever raided or properly searched by federal law enforcement.
    • “There was never, ever, ever, ever a raid of Zorro Ranch. One of the biggest problems.” (09:10)

• Assurances That Weren’t Kept

  • Prosecutors assured New Mexico they’d pursue “multi-jurisdictional, multi-state” prosecutions, but in practice focused tightly—culminating in the Maxwell case.
    • “They were making the representation that they were going to prosecute with a multi-jurisdictional, multi-state focus. Yeah, that’s what they should have done. That’s what the evidence required. This was a RICO case… But sure, let’s just charge Ghislaine.” (08:40)
  • The state was told its halting of investigation was necessary to avoid “risks of parallel investigations creating inconsistent statements.” (10:50)

Calls for Renewed State Action

• Balderas and Capucci Critique Passive State Response

  • Host and former Attorney General both call for state prosecutors in affected states to reopen and pursue parallel investigations using dual sovereignty doctrines.
    • “I have always said that the states that were most affected should open state investigations as we speak and use dual sovereignty if they have to, to go after people that were involved… Problem is a lot of them just don’t have the courage to do it.” (05:40)
  • Capucci laments the lack of courage among state officials, questioning why New York especially has not been more aggressive.

• Recent Developments in New Mexico

  • Current NM Attorney General Raul Torres has reopened the investigation into Zorro Ranch, spurred by previously sealed FBI files.
    • Legislative “Truth Finding Commission” has been formed, empowered to subpoena witnesses and coordinate with law enforcement, but not conduct criminal investigations independently. (14:28)
  • The commission includes former prosecutors and an ex-FBI agent, which Capucci is cautiously optimistic about.

Pattern of Cover-Ups and Negligence

• No Meaningful Investigation

  • Capucci asserts multiple times that there has never been a “real investigation” into Epstein’s activities, only narrow or performative efforts by the feds.
    • “Anybody who’s serious about the case knows there was never an investigation and these files coming out have been the receipts to prove it.” (07:00)
  • He describes the consistent federal narrowing of scope as evidence of a systemic cover-up.
    • “The fact that it was narrowed tells me what I need to know: that this is, was, has been and always will be a cover up.” (16:45)

• Failure to Seize Evidence

  • Balderas’s office urged federal authorities to seize Zorro Ranch for evidence preservation. No action was taken, and the property was sold in 2023.
    • “We believe that this ranch was used by Epstein and others to facilitate the commission and prolong concealment of his trafficking of children…” (18:50, quoting from AG letter)
  • Capucci sarcastically notes that the sale and demolition of structures mean any chance of preserving evidence is gone.

• Implications

  • Capucci repeatedly suggests that luck and coincidence alone cannot explain the consistent failures and patterns that benefited Epstein and his associates.
    • “Every time there’s something wrong here, it always bounces in the favor of Jeffrey Epstein and his friends… Or could it be that all of this was by design?” (20:10)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Federal Motives

  • “You don’t want them [states] looking into what happened. You don’t want them looking into co-conspirators. Why not? What’s the federal government trying to hide and why?” (01:40)

• On Investigation Quality

  • “Negligent behavior and people doing a shitty job… only goes so far. And I think that we’ve reached that point a long time ago. Enough is enough.” (04:20)

• On the Narrowing of Scope

  • “We provided information to them to strengthen their prosecution… They were making the representation that they were going to prosecute with a multi-jurisdictional, multi-state focus. Yeah, that’s what they should have done. This was a RICO case. Spanned states, spanned jurisdictions, spanned continents. But sure, let’s just charge Ghislaine.” (08:25)

• On the Inaction at Zorro Ranch

  • “There was never, ever, ever, ever a raid of Zorro Ranch. One of the biggest problems.” (09:15)

• On DOJ’s Consistent Obstruction

  • “Maybe somebody should ask Bill Barr why his DOJ decided to do that. Look, if you’re going to have the states kill their investigations and kick them up to you, then you have to do the right thing. Right?” (07:50)

• On Recent Efforts to Resume Investigations

  • “Torres said in a Feb. 18 statement that revelations outlined in the previously sealed FBI files warrant further investigation. Well, what do you know? They most certainly do, and Zorro Ranch most certainly is at the top of the list.” (12:10)

• On Broader Conspiracies

  • “Every time there’s something wrong here, it always bounces in the favor of Jeffrey Epstein and his friends… Or could it be that all of this was by design?” (20:25)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• 01:00 – Introduction to the federal government’s intervention and the forced handoff by state authorities.
• 04:50 – Detailed rundown of the unequal state-federal cooperation; evidence sharing failures.
• 08:25 – Discussion of the assurances made to New Mexico and the lack of follow-through by federal prosecutors.
• 09:15 – Explicit statement: There was never a raid of Zorro Ranch.
• 12:10 – Announcement of the reopening of New Mexico’s investigation and creation of a truth-finding commission.
• 14:28 – Overview of the commission's makeup and its investigative limitations.
• 16:45 – Host declares the narrowing of investigations an obvious cover-up.
• 18:50 – Balderas’s letter urging seizure of Zorro Ranch to preserve evidence.
• 20:10 – Final reflection on the consistency of outcomes benefiting Epstein and the notion of systemic cover-ups.

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Summary & Conclusion

Bobby Capucci’s episode underscores the pattern of federal authorities stepping in to limit, rather than expand, probes into Jeffrey Epstein’s expansive criminal network. Testimony from former New Mexico AG Hector Balderas reinforces that state-level efforts were suppressed and vital evidentiary opportunities missed—especially concerning Zorro Ranch. Even as New Mexico resumes efforts to investigate, Capucci remains skeptical, repeatedly urging listeners to see these developments in the context of a broader governmental reluctance—if not outright conspiracy—to face the full extent of Epstein’s crimes and his network’s reach.

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For listeners seeking full transcripts, linked sources, or more information, visit the episode’s description.

Transcript

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[Investigative Podcaster]

Foreign what's up everyone? And welcome to another episode of the Epstein Chronicles. Right after Jeffrey Epstein's arrest in 2019, there were state investigations that were underway as well. And according to reports that we have now, the federal government killed these state investigations and made the states kick the case to the federal government. And previously we were talking about how the Feds told the SDNY to stand down. Well, now we're hearing that the same direction was given to the authorities in New Mexico. So you have to ask yourself, why was the federal government so gung ho on being in control of everything when it comes to prosecuting Jeffrey Epstein, especially considering the first time around they wanted to keep it at the state level. But now all of a sudden it's a different story. You don't want the states involved. You don't want them looking into what happened. You don't want them looking into co conspirators. Why not? What's the federal government trying to hide and why? Well, of course we know now, or at least we can speculate to a pretty good degree that Jeffrey Epstein was being protected because he was an asset. So the government had to protect their asset, right? And to do that, they had to have all the right pieces in place. They couldn't rely on the state to play ball because the state doesn't answer to the doj. So they had to make sure that they had the proper people there to facilitate the whole entire cover up. And boy did they do that. So today, like usual, I have some receipts to share with you. And to do that, we're going to take a look at an article from the Albuquerque Journal headline Feds Asked New Mexico to Halt Its Epstein Probe. Former AG Balderas Cooperation between state and federal investigators was one way. And let's not forget that when the arrest happened, Trump was in office then, too. So did he white glove him? Sure looks that way. Obviously we can't prove that yet, but that's the way it's looking. The author of this article is Olivier Utterbrock. Federal prosecutors in 2019 asked New Mexico officials to halt their investigation into sex trafficking activities at Jeffrey Epstein Zorro Ranch, agreeing to share information that potentially could have led to. To criminal charges here. And that is exactly what I reported when I was down in New Mexico. The sources I was talking to said that they were told to stand down, that the feds were going to take care of everything. Well, lo and behold, now we have the receipts. New Mexico lived up to its end of the agreement, ending its investigation and providing police reports, recorded witness interviews and other investigative records to to the U. S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York, former Attorney general Hector Balderas said last week. And look, this is something that happens relatively often as far as, you know, a case being tried by the federal government as opposed to the state, depending on jurisdiction, depending on sovereignty, and depending on who has the biggest penalty. So a lot of times you'll see this kind of deal happen where something gets. It gets kicked to the federal government or maybe gets kicked back down to the state level, if we're talking about, you know, petite policy or something. But when we're talking about a case like this continuously, time and time again, where the fed stepped in and they told the state to stop investigating, and then the feds themselves get stuck in the mud, what else are we supposed to think? I mean, negligent behavior and people doing a shitty job that only goes so far. And I think that we've reached that point a long time ago. Enough is enough. Balderas, who served as attorney general from 2014 to 2022, said he's unaware that federal investigators provided any information to New Mexico officials that could have led to criminal prosecutions here. And I have always said that the states that were most affected should open state investigations as we speak and use dual sovereignty if they have to, to go after people that were involved. I mean, they have the tools in their toolbox. The problem is a lot of them just don't have the courage to do it for whatever reason. Now it looks like New Mexico is starting to play ball a little bit, and they're going to pursue this, which is good. But what about New York? I mean, the crimes that were committed in New York, it's very obvious. They have a mountain of evidence and at the state level they could use that evidence to go after prosecutions. And if the federal government won't do it, it's up to these state prosecutors to have the courage. Now, of course, that's all based on the evidence, right? If there's evidence that could lead to prosecutions, that evidence should be acted upon. You see, like I've said a million times, but I'll say it again, the biggest problem here is there was never a real investigation. So anybody who's saying this has all been looked at is lying to you because there was never a real investigation. And you see that right here. I mean, everybody kicks it up to the feds and then all we get from the feds is that narrow decision to go after Maxwell herself. I think it's relatively obvious at this point what the federal government was trying to do and that is be in control of the whole entire thing. That way, the narrative they want to pitch is a narrative that other little lap dogs in the legacy media run with. And that's exactly what has happened time and time again. But anybody who's serious about the case knows there was never an investigation and these files coming out have been the receipts to prove it. Cooperation between the two agencies was a one way relationship, he said. Records released in January by the U. S. Department of justice related to Epstein investigations include letters and emails between Valderas office and federal prosecutors shed light on New Mexico's decision to scrap its investigation. Maybe somebody should ask Bill Barr why his DOJ decided to do that. Look, if you're going to have the states kill their investigations and kick them up to you, then you have to do the right thing. Right? You have to investigate and you have to prosecute. But I'm telling you right now, they were under the impression that what's in these files is so explosive that neither side was ever going to release them. So they knew they could do whatever they wanted pretty much as far as the investigation goes, because they were working under the assumption that we would never see it. But now that that has been shattered, they're scrambling to try and fill in the gaps and continue their cover up. But I don't think it's working, especially when you have people like Balderas coming out and blowing their narrative directly out of the water. The request by federal prosecutors essentially gutted New Mexico's investigation into sex trafficking at Epstein's 7,500acre Zorro Ranch located 30 miles south of Santa Fe, Balderas said. Balderas now is president of Northern New Mexico College in Espanola. It makes a lot more sense now why his office wouldn't give me any information when I contacted them when I was down in New Mexico. If the feds took the case, well, they're not going to let the local office talk about what's going on. Right. So they referred me to the doj. And, and like usual, the DOJ told me to pound sand, but with this confirmation, it makes sense. The DOJ never had any desire to look deeper into what was going on in places like New Mexico or places like New York or places like Florida even. It was all about the federal investigation so they could be in control, so they could narrow the scope. And that's not speculation anymore. We have the evidence right here. We provided information to them to strengthen their prosecution. He said prosecutors made assurances they would provide findings to New Mexico investigators. They were making the representation that they were going to prosecute with a multi jurisdictional, multi state focus. Yeah, that's what they should have done. That's what the evidence required. This was a RICO case. Span states, span jurisdictions, spanned continents. But sure, let's just charge. Ghislaine Maxwell's office also sent a letter in 2020 urging federal prosecutors to seize control of Zorro Ranch to preserve evidence. Record show Balderas said he offered to assist serving search warrants at the ranch, but never received a response and has no reason to believe prosecutors acted on the requests. There was never, ever, ever, ever a raid of Zorro Ranch. One of the biggest problems. And now we're finding out there was never even an investigation or raid in Colorado either. But sure, tell me about that great investigation that the federal government put forward when it comes to Jeffrey Epstein. Federal prosecutors asked New Mexico to halt its investigation to avoid risks of parallel investigations creating inconsistent statements that defense attorneys could exploit. Balderas said none of the investigative records provided by New Mexico appear to be among the more than 3 million pages of documents released last month by the U.S. department of Justice. So where's the documentation? Is Valderas lying? I mean, I don't put it past him, but I have to default that it's the federal government that's BSing us because that's all they've been doing and that's all they continue to do in light of the recent disclosures. I remain very concerned that they did not disclose or share more information that they had in their possession, Valderra said of federal investigators. He called the failure to work with state and and state investigators a tactical mistake. The U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York, did not respond last week to email messages seeking comment. New Mexico ended its investigation in July of 2019, shortly before Epstein died by suicide in August of 2019 while in custody facing federal sex trafficking charges. I know, I know. Just another coincidence, Attorney General Roald Torres recently announced that the New Mexico Department of Justice is reopening its investigation into Epstein Zorro Ranch. Torres said in a Feb. 18 statement that revelations outlined in the previously sealed FBI files warrant further investigation. Well, what do you know? They most certainly do, and Zorro Ranch most certainly is at the top of the list. Torres also said he plans to work with the Legislative Truth Finding Commission, created by the House earlier this month to investigate activities at Zorro Ranch. The four member commission will not have the ability to directly launch criminal investigations, but will be able to subpoena witnesses, hear testimony and coordinate with law enforcement agencies. So whatever they find, if they find anything, they'll have to take that to Raul Torres to and he'll have to decide what he's going to do with it.

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[Investigative Podcaster]

Torres also said he plans to work with the Legislative Truth Finding Commission created by the House earlier this month to investigate activities at Zorro Ranch. The four member commission will not have the ability to directly launch criminal investigations or but will be able to subpoena witnesses, hear testimony and coordinate with law enforcement agencies. The House members appointed to the commission are state Reps. Andrea Romero, Mariana Anaya, Andrea Reeb and Bill Hall. Reeb is a former prosecutor and hall is a retired FBI agent. So they should be able to at least know what they're looking at, right? I mean, you would hope. Torres Chief of Staff Lauren Rodriguez said Friday that the New Mexico Department of Justice has not received any correspondence from federal prosecutors in New York since Torres took office in January of 2023. Valdera said he supports both Torres decision to revive the state investigation and lawmakers formation of the Truth Finding Commission. Epstein ran a complex international sex trafficking operation that should have involved attorney generals in several states, including New Mexico, Florida and New York, where Epstein had homes, Baldera said. The investigation should have been broadened, not narrowed, he said. Well, hallelujah. The fact that it was narrowed tells me what I need to know that this is, was, has been and always will be a cover up. Maureen Comey, then an assistant U S Attorney for the Southern District of New York, wrote in an email September 8, 2019 that she had secured an agreement from Valdera's office to halt the state investigation into Zorro Ranch. The name of the email's recipient is redacted. In essence, they agreed to cease any investigation into sex trafficking and share whatever they had gathered to date regarding sex trafficking activity with our office Ro Comey, who headed the criminal case against Epstein. Comey also worked on the prosecution of Glenn Maxwell, Epstein's co defendant, who was convicted in 2022 of sex trafficking and other crimes and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Should have been 220 years, but here we are. We agreed that they were free to proceed with whatever other investigations unrelated to sex trafficking they may have concerning Epstein and told them that at the conclusion of our case we would pass along any information we may have gathered about state crimes that were committed in their jurisdiction, she wrote. Well, why didn't they do that? Probably a good idea to subpoena Comey, right? See what she has to say. On September 17, 2019, about a month after Epstein's death, then Chief Deputy Attorney General Clara Moran sent a letter to federal prosecutors that included an attachment containing police reports, recorded witness interviews, correspondence among state agencies and documents related to Epstein's leasing of state public lands. New Mexico canceled the lease by an Epstein owned company of 1,243 acres of state trust land adjacent to Zorro Ranch that dated to his purchase of the ranch in 93. Investigators suspected Epstein obtained the lease to enhance privacy at the ranch, Balderas said. Meron, now a second Judicial District Court judge, confirmed last week that the attorney General's office was asked to halt its investigation, but declined to discuss details. In July of 2020, Valdera's office sent a letter to federal prosecutors urging them to seize Zorro Ranch to preserve criminal evidence such as files and video recordings. The letter, signed by Morin, urged federal prosecutors to use civil forfeiture process to obtain the ranch. We believe that this ranch was used by Epstein and others to facilitate the commission and prolong concealment of his trafficking of children such that seizure may be pursued in conjunction with the pending criminal prosecution of Epstein's associates and co conspirators, morin wrote. But I thought there was none of that. No co conspirators, no associates. He was a lone predator, just a lone wolf. Epstein purchased Zoro Ranch near Stanley from the family of former Governor Bruce King in 1993 and built a 33,339 square foot mansion with a landing strip and other structures. Epstein's estate sold the ranch to Texas real estate mogul don Huffines in 2023 for an undisclosed price. Huffings reportedly has pledged to cooperate. Well, isn't that nice after all the construction's done already, after the house has been knocked down. But sure, thank you. But honestly, it's not even his fault. It's the fault of the federal government and New Mexico for letting the federal government dog walk them. Valderas said that he offered local law enforcement assistance serving warrants at the property. We were never informed whether they obtained search warrants or searched the property, he said. I was calling for them to seize those assets in 2020 because I determined at that point that there was enough information that potential criminal acts have occurred there, he said. The assets should have been seized. I continue to take that position today. Well, I take that position too. And have you noticed that every time there's something wrong here, it always bounces in the favor of Jeffrey Epstein and his friends? There's never a bounce that comes our way, right? But sure, I guess it's all just coincidence and that Jeffrey Epstein just had the luck of the Irish. Or could it be that all of this was by design? All the information that goes with this episode can be found in the description box.

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