← The Epstein Files
The Epstein Files
BREAKING - New Mexico Reopens Zorro Ranch Investigation After Federal Inaction
00:24:56
Loading summary
Transcript143 lines
- [00:00]
A
Hey, it's the creator of the Epstein Files. Before we get into today's episode, I need to tell you about my brand new podcast, Wardesk. If you value how we fact check the narrative and follow the raw data on this show, Wardesk is built for you. It's a massive ongoing investigation into the rapidly escalating developments happening in the Middle east right now. It is completely post partisan and follows the facts. Instead of cable news talking points, we go straight to the source to explain the reality of global conflict. Search for Wardesk on Apple Podcasts or Spotify right now or check this episode's description for the links and hit follow. Alright, let's get into the episode. Three million pages of evidence. Thousands of unsealed flight logs. Millions of data points, names, themes and and timelines connected. You are listening to the Epstein Files, the world's first AI native investigation into the case that traditional journalism simply could not handle.
- [01:13]
B
Welcome back to the Epstein Files. Last time we covered our last breaking news update and today breaking news has emerged about NYT re scrutinizes Zora ranch as federal silence continues In 2019, New Mexico opened a state investigation into Zorro Ranch, then halted it after federal intervention. Newly released records indicate the property was never searched and the state has now reopened the case. As always, every document we reference is at epsteinfiles fm. So the place to start is the EFTA documents because the DOJ release contains hundreds of emails that show exactly how this relationship functioned.
- [01:46]
C
Right? And to establish a strict operational perimeter for this review, we are looking exclusively at the jurisdictional history. We are evaluating the physical footprint of the 10,000 acre Zohar Ranch property in New Mexico. We have a substantial primary source record to work through today.
- [02:02]
B
We do, and that record includes county property records, state legislative investigations, internal federal emails, unsealed court filings, and the recent Electronic Freedom of Information act document releases from the Department of Justice. The EFTA releases, Correct, the EFTA releases. Our objective is to evaluate this documented institutional history against the viral claims currently circulating regarding the property. We will separate verified facts from unverified speculation by holding strictly to what the institutional record proves.
- [02:33]
C
To establish that institutional record, you have to look at the timeline of the state investigation first.
- [02:39]
B
According to the February 2026 reporting from the Guardian and the November 2025 coverage from AP News, in July 2019, then New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas formally initiated a state level criminal probe into activities at Zorro Ranch.
- [02:55]
C
This occurred almost immediately after the July 2019 federal arrest in New York. The Focus based on the internal memos from Balderas at the time was strictly on activity that occurred within New Mexico borders.
- [03:06]
B
Activity that remained viable for state prosecution. The documents show his office began contacting multiple potential victims who had referenced the New Mexico property in earlier civil depositions.
- [03:17]
C
However, the record indicates that this state level probe was almost immediately suspended.
- [03:21]
B
When you examine standard state level trafficking probes, what triggers a sudden operational halt like that?
- [03:28]
C
It was halted by a direct jurisdictional intervention from the federal government.
- [03:32]
B
The documents show that federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York formally requested the New Mexico Attorney General to stand down.
- [03:41]
C
The rationale documented by the federal prosecutors was that they were spearheading a primary active multi jurisdictional prosecution out Manhattan in federal law enforcement. The argument is that a parallel state investigation running concurrently could potentially interfere with their operations.
- [03:58]
B
You could duplicate witness interviews Exactly.
- [04:01]
C
Or complicate the federal chain of custody. When you have a federal apparatus claiming primacy, it is standard practice for a state Attorney general to defer.
- [04:10]
B
We have the specific communication that confirms this arrangement. In the newly released federal files, There is a September 2019 email originating from Manhattan federal prosecutors.
- [04:20]
C
In this document they confirm in writing that the New Mexico Attorney General's office had agreed to cease any investigation into
- [04:26]
B
sex trafficking and share whatever they had gathered regarding sex trafficking activity with our office. That is a direct quote.
- [04:33]
C
You are looking at a formal documented agreement where the state fully surrendered its investigative authority regarding Zara Ranch directly to the federal government.
- [04:42]
B
That transfer of authority sets up the central anomaly in this entire forensic record. The state stopped looking because the federal government explicitly stated they were securing the perimeter.
- [04:52]
C
They stated they were handling the investigation. But when you audit the subsequent federal actions regarding the physical property in New Mexico, you find a massive documented void.
- [05:03]
B
That void is codified in a December 2019 email exchange. In this specific communication, a federal prosecutor is communicating with a lawyer representing the co executors of the estate.
- [05:14]
C
The federal prosecutor states plainly that they had not searched the New Mexico property.
- [05:19]
B
From a forensic auditing standpoint. How do you reconcile a federal agency clearing the field of state investigators only to leave a 10,000 acre primary asset completely unsearched?
- [05:30]
C
You cannot reconcile it with standard investigative procedure. This is inconsistent with any basic forensic protocol. You have a massive property spanning thousands of acres.
- [05:41]
B
A property explicitly named as a trafficking destination by multiple victims under oath in federal court.
- [05:48]
C
It was explicitly targeted by a state Attorney General's investigation. The state actively halted its search to clear the field for the federal government. Yet the federal government confirms in writing months later that it never executed a search warrant on that physical property.
- [06:04]
B
They never dispatched evidence response teams. They never secured the digital infrastructure. The documented record shows a total gap where baseline forensic action should be.
- [06:12]
C
To understand why that gap exists in 2019, you have to examine the historical precedent of institutional actions concerning this network.
- [06:19]
B
We have a 2007 FBI TIP report included in the DOJ release. In February 2007, during the investigation that ultimately led to the Florida plea deal, FBI agents traveled to New Mexico.
- [06:30]
C
The documents show they went to Zorro Ranch and initiated an interview with the ranch manager.
- [06:35]
B
The resulting 3,02 report details that the manager confirmed the primary target spent several weeks there in the summer. He was accompanied by a large entourage that sometimes included individuals the manager referred to as his masseuses.
- [06:50]
C
The crucial data point in that 2007 FBI report is how the interview concluded. The interviewing agent writes that the session was abruptly terminated when an unidentified individual called the ranch staff.
- [07:03]
B
The caller instructed the manager and the staff that they were no longer allowed to speak with us. The flow of information was immediately severed by an external communication.
- [07:12]
C
More importantly, when you review the surrounding file, there is no record of the FBI returning with a subpoena or compelling further cooperation from that staff at that time. The inquiry at Zoro Ranch simply died on the vine.
- [07:23]
B
That specific incident at Zoro Ranch aligns with a much broader pattern documented extensively in the 2020 DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility report that is often referred to
- [07:34]
C
as the OPR report and the 2019 Frankel letter. For context, the Frankel letter was authored by four members of Congress demanding accountability.
- [07:44]
B
Both of these documents forensically reconstruct the 2006-2008 Florida investigation. They detail a highly unusual non prosecution agreement Engineered by the U.S. attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida.
- [07:59]
C
This agreement effectively neutralized a 60 count federal indictment in exchange for a remarkably lenient state plea.
- [08:06]
B
Crucially, the OPR report and the Frankel letter document how the federal prosecutors actively concealed the terms of this non prosecution agreement from the victims.
- [08:16]
C
When you analyze the mechanics of that concealment, it constitutes a direct violation of the Crime Victims Rights Act.
- [08:22]
B
The CVRA explicitly mandates that federal prosecutors must confer with victims and notify them regarding plea agreements or decisions not to prosecute.
- [08:30]
C
The OPR report documents that prosecutors intentionally kept the victims in the dark to ensure the non prosecution agreement could be finalized without judicial or public interference.
- [08:39]
B
When you connect these documents, a clear pattern of documented institutional concealment emerges.
- [08:45]
C
The aborted 2007 FBI interview at Zorra Ranch fits precisely into the operational pattern established during the Florida investigation. You see institutional movement toward a target followed by an abrupt orchestrated shutdown of
- [08:59]
B
the inquiry, with federal authorities remaining entirely complicit in that shutdown. You see the machinery of the justice system actively pausing itself.
- [09:07]
C
You see another procedural anomaly in the state records that highlights this friction between the physical reality of the property and and its legal treatment.
- [09:16]
B
We have records from the New Mexico Department of public safety. On August 17, 2010, the subject registered as a sex offender with the Santa Fe County Sheriff.
- [09:26]
C
This was done following a formal notification from the state that his Florida conviction required him to register his primary New Mexico residence.
- [09:33]
B
However, later that exact same month, the Department of Public Safety issued a reversal. They informed him that according to their interpretation of state law, he was not required to register.
- [09:43]
C
That doesn't add up. You have a convicted sex offender residing on an isolated 10,000 acre compound who is formally relieved of his statutory obligation to register with local authorities within a matter of weeks.
- [09:55]
B
The statutory mechanics of sex offender registries are designed to maximize local law enforcement visibility.
- [10:02]
C
This reversal is a procedural anomaly that effectively removed a critical layer of local law enforcement scrutiny from a property that the primary source record proves was central to a trafficking network.
- [10:14]
B
It eliminated the requirement for local deputies to conduct routine compliance checks on the physical perimeter of Zorro Ranch.
- [10:21]
C
This documented history of halted investigations, unexecuted searches, and procedural exemptions brings us directly to the current legislative and prosecutorial actions occurring in 2025 and 2026.
- [10:33]
B
The AP News and Guardian reports outline a renewed institutional push for a forensic accounting. Democratic State Representative Andrea Romero is currently leading a legislative effort to establish a bipartisan truth commission.
- [10:46]
C
This commission is allocated a $2.5 million budget. According to the drafted legislation. The stated goal is to establish a complete public record of exactly what occurred at Zorra Ranch.
- [10:57]
B
They are specifically mandated to examine what local and state officials knew, when they knew it, and how the regulatory system failed to intervene.
- [11:05]
C
Alongside that Legislative Truth Commission, you have significant executive action. The current New Mexico Attorney General, Raul Torres, has ordered the criminal investigation into Zorra Ranch reopened.
- [11:17]
B
Crucially, Attorney General Torres is seeking immediate access to the complete unredacted federal case file from the Department of Justice.
- [11:25]
C
This executive action directly targets the jurisdictional void created in 2019. Torres is challenging the paradigm where the state deferred to a federal investigation that subsequently failed to execute a physical search.
- [11:37]
B
He is attempting to force the federal government to produce the underlying intelligence that justified their request to halt the state probe in the first place.
- [11:45]
C
Moving from the jurisdictional record to the physical reality of the property. The primary source documents allow us to build a precise timeline of Zorranch's ownership and infrastructural development.
- [11:57]
B
According to archival reporting from the Albuquerque Tribune and the Santa Fe New Mexican From June and September 1995, the initial acreage was purchased.
- [12:06]
C
In 1993 it was purchased from the family of former New Mexico Governor Bruce King. The purchasing entity was listed as the
- [12:13]
B
Zorro Trust, which was later restructured into a corporate entity called Cypress Inc.
- [12:18]
C
The county construction permits detailed in those 1995 articles outline the massive logistical scale of what was being built. The documents show this was not a modest desert retreat.
- [12:28]
B
The approved permits detail a 26, 700 square foot primary mansion. The architectural filings describe it as a Mexican hacienda style featuring a massive open air courtyard and an interior elevator.
- [12:42]
C
Beyond the primary residence, the permits detail the construction of a 40 foot swimming pool, a fully operational airplane hangar, a private paved airstrip, a dedicated manager's house, an assistant ranch manager's house, a bunkhouse and extensive staff quarters.
- [12:59]
B
You were looking at the blueprints for a self sustaining isolated compound.
- [13:03]
C
The footprint of that compound was further expanded through state trust land leases.
- [13:07]
B
We have the specific documents, agricultural leases GR2088 and GR2122. These state records show that the corporate entity Cypress Inc. Leased approximately 1200 acres of state trust land.
- [13:20]
C
State trust lands in New Mexico are designated parcels meant to generate revenue for public institutions, typically through grazing or agriculture.
- [13:27]
B
By leasing these specific 1200 acres, the entity effectively expanded the perimeter and deepened the physical isolation of the primary property.
- [13:35]
C
Those specific state leases eventually became a point of administrative leverage. The documents show that in September 2019, the state commissioner of Public Lands said Stephanie Garcia Richard formally canceled both agricultural leases, GR2088 and GR2122.
- [13:53]
B
The administrative cancellation order cited multiple violations. The stated reasons included obstructed access for state inspectors, misrepresentations in the agricultural filings, and a formal conclusion by the Attorney General's office.
- [14:06]
C
A conclusion that Cypress Inc. May have obtained the leases through illegitimate means for purposes completely unrelated to agriculture.
- [14:14]
B
The state utilized administrative law to sever the property's connection to public land based on documented patterns of obstruction.
- [14:21]
C
The sheer financial scale of the property's development between its purchase in the early 2000s is explicitly detailed in a civil case filed in February 2001.
- [14:30]
B
The case is Zorro Trust vs County of Santa Fe. In this proceeding, the county assessor evaluated the property's total value at $33,323,725 and issued a corresponding property tax bill.
- [14:45]
C
The corporate entity sued the county, claiming the property was overvalued by roughly $3 million. Asserting it was only worth 30 million, the lawsuit sought a tax refund of approximately $20,000.
- [14:57]
B
While a $20,000 tax dispute might appear minor in the context of a $33 million valuation, this financial record is vital for our forensic review.
- [15:06]
C
A civil tax dispute forces a legal discovery process. It establishes a highly detailed, legally binding audit of the massive infrastructure upgrades executed between 1995 and 2001.
- [15:17]
B
When a county assessor defends a $33 million valuation in 2001 New Mexico, they must document the physical reality of the property under penalty of perjury.
- [15:27]
C
This civil record confirms the precise square footage of the mansion, the operational status of the airstrip, and the exact number of support structures. It provides a verified architectural baseline concluding
- [15:39]
B
the timeline of ownership. County property records confirmed the eventual liquidation of the asset. The estate listed the remaining 8,000 acres for sale in 2021.
- [15:49]
C
The property remained on the market until it was sold in 2023 to a corporate entity named San Rafael Ranch, LLC.
- [15:57]
B
The proceeds from this liquidation were reportedly slated to compensate claimants and creditors against the estate.
- [16:04]
C
That sequence completes the ownership life cycle documented in the public record. Initial acquisition via a Trust in 1993, massive documented infrastructural development audited in 2001, a brief period of aborted federal and state scrutiny, and finally corporate liquidation by the estate in 2023.
- [16:21]
B
We must now synthesize this documented timeline and physical baseline with the visual evidence recently released in the federal files.
- [16:29]
C
The EFTA documents contain specific photographic archives.
- [16:33]
B
Files EFTA 00256-12-500024 in EFT EFT 7 EFTA 0024906 contain over 500 individual photographs recovered during the broader federal investigation.
- [16:49]
C
These undated photographs show the physical infrastructure in high detail. You see the interior courtyard of the massive mansion, the stables, the Priet airstrip, and heavily redacted images of young women engaging in various activities across the ranch property.
- [17:03]
B
These photographs are a critical component of the primary source record because they visually corroborate the scale documented in the 1995 County Permits and the intense isolation documented in the state leases.
- [17:14]
C
When you analyze these images, the EFT documents establish the reality of a heavily funded, highly isolated operational hub. The visual record confirms the architectural filings.
- [17:23]
B
The photographic record also documents the physical presence of high profile figures at Zoro Ranch. The released files include images of Jean Luc Brunel the French modeling agent heavily implicated in the trafficking network.
- [17:34]
C
The archive also contains photographs of academic Noam Chomsky and filmmaker Woody Allen on the property.
- [17:41]
B
Furthermore, the EFTA release includes internal emails from 2011 detailing the acquisition of art for the property. These emails document the purchase and specialized shipment of a massive nine by nine foot painting.
- [17:55]
C
The painting is a reproduction of Peter Paul Rubin's the Massacre of the Innocents
- [17:59]
B
and the logistics emails specify it was intended explicitly for the entryway of the New Mexico ranch.
- [18:05]
C
The documented presence of these specific individuals coupled with the massive logistical infrastructure confirms the Zorra Ranch was not functioning merely as a private secondary retreat.
- [18:15]
B
It was an active high capacity node in an international network. The primary source evidence, flight logs, photos, architectural permits, establishes the total capability of the property.
- [18:25]
C
It had the infrastructure to host, isolate and control individuals on a massive scale, out of sight of local law enforcement.
- [18:32]
B
With that verified architectural and operational baseline established, we have to measure the current viral evidence against the institutional record.
- [18:40]
C
There is a widely circulated viral interview from the Kim Iverson broadcast.
- [18:44]
B
In this specific interview, an accuser provides a detailed narrative of being transported to Zoro Ranch and and held there for 10 days against her will.
- [18:53]
C
The accuser proceeds to make highly specific claims regarding the infrastructure of the property. She claims there is a subterranean laboratory, that she was subjected to a coercive pelvic exam that she witnessed the primary target physically shapeshift. And she outlines allegations regarding active eugenics and cloning operations occurring on site.
- [19:13]
B
When you measure those specific claims against the 2001 tax audit and the architectural permits, how does this forensic methodology apply?
- [19:21]
C
You have to separate what the primary source documents support from what they do not. The logistical abuse network and the forced isolation are documented facts.
- [19:29]
B
The primary source record, which includes sworn testimonies from victims like Virginia Giuffria, Maria Farmer, as detailed in extensive guardian reporting, explicitly confirms the transport of victims to Zorro Ranch.
- [19:41]
C
The record proves the intense geographical isolation was utilized as a mechanism of control. The claim of being held for 10 days aligns perfectly with the documented operational capabilities of the compound.
- [19:54]
B
However, regarding the specific claims of functional underground cloning facilities, non human entities or shape shifting, we don't have documentation for that.
- [20:04]
C
When you audit the physical architectural records submitted to Santa fe County, the 2001 Civil Tax Assessments and the 500 EVFTA photographs, there is zero documentation of subterranean medical laboratories.
- [20:17]
B
The infrastructure required for advanced genetic cloning requires massive power grid modifications, specialized H VAC systems and medical waste disposal permits.
- [20:26]
C
The county records comprehensively document a 40 foot pool and an elevator. But they do not document the industrial medical capabilities required to support the operations alleged in the viral broadcast.
- [20:37]
B
Another major viral claim circulating currently centers on burial allegations at the property. This is heavily featured in a recent broadcast from Lauren the Mortician.
- [20:45]
C
The broadcast focuses on an anonymous email that was discovered within the released EFDA files.
- [20:50]
B
This anonymous communication claims that two foreign girls were killed and buried on the ranch property.
- [20:56]
C
The broadcast then analyzes the taphonomic potential for finding human remains in a high desert environment, emphasizing that a thorough forensic search utilizing specialized equipment would be required to either validate or invalidate the anonymous claim.
- [21:11]
B
This brings us directly back to the jurisdictional void we established earlier. The documents show that no federal excavation or physical search of the 7,500 core acres ever occurred in 2019.
- [21:24]
C
Because the state was instructed to stand down and the federal government subsequently failed to act, the physical ground remains unexamined.
- [21:31]
B
Therefore, the presence or absence of human remains cannot be scientifically validated or invalidated by the current public record.
- [21:39]
C
The viral tension regarding these burial claims exists entirely because of the documented institutional failure. The vacuum of verified forensic information allows anonymous claims to circulate unchecked.
- [21:51]
B
We also have to address the fundamental integrity of the documents we are reviewing. The primary source record itself has been subjected to continuous documented interference and manipulation.
- [22:01]
C
We have a 2009 FBI file detailing a federal investigation into Alfredo Rodriguez. Rodriguez was an employee who attempted to extort $50,000 in exchange for subpoenaed documents and ledgers related to the early civil cases.
- [22:16]
B
Furthermore, within the document releases, we have the GBL SER draft letter. This was an internal strategy memo drafted by the Defense Consortium.
- [22:25]
C
The document outlines a highly aggressive, coordinated strategy to attack the credibility and professional standing of Palm Beach Detective John Recery. He is the law enforcement officer who initiated the very first local investigation into the network.
- [22:39]
B
This is the critical synthesis of the entire review. You cannot look at this record as a complete history.
- [22:44]
C
The primary source record is fragmentary. It is an incomplete ledger precisely because it has been subjected to continuous documented interference.
- [22:52]
B
You have employees attempting to sell and withhold physical evidence. You have federal prosecutors actively halting state investigations.
- [23:00]
C
You have non prosecution agreements designed to conceal facts from victims. You have internal defense memos coordinating attacks on the primary investigators.
- [23:09]
B
And you have massive multimillion dollar properties that remain entirely unsearched by federal agencies.
- [23:17]
C
When you look at these files, you are looking at a record that has been actively managed, manipulated, and in several documented instances, actively suppressed by the institutions meant to audit it.
- [23:28]
B
Evaluating the complete ledger, the documents prove Several absolute facts. They prove that Zorro Ranch was a massive, highly developed property util an isolated node by the network.
- [23:39]
C
They proved that state level probes were actively halted by federal intervention. They proved that the property was never formally searched by the FBI or any federal agency in 2019.
- [23:49]
B
And the EFTA photographic record confirms the presence of key international figures within the network physically on the site.
- [23:56]
C
Conversely, the unknowns remaining in the ledger are significant. The full unredacted federal case file remains withheld, which is exactly what the New Mexico Attorney General is currently fighting to obtain.
- [24:07]
B
The physical ground of the 7,500acre property remains forensically untested.
- [24:13]
C
This leaves the anonymous claims of burials entirely unverified. But crucially, it makes them impossible to dismiss without a physical audit. The documented failure to execute a search warrant is the defining characteristic of the Zorro Ranch institutional record.
- [24:29]
B
Consider the $4.95 million settlement that attorney General Torres recently secured from Deutsche bank for Human Trafficking Prevention in New Mexico.
- [24:38]
C
If international financial institutions are settling for millions of dollars based on their documented failure to flag the financial footprint of Zorro Ranch, what might a physical footprint audit reveal if the newly formed Truth Commission successfully mandates ground penetrating radar on those 7,500 acres.
- [24:56]
B
We'll be watching this closely. If more documents surface, we'll be back with an update.
- [25:05]
A
You have just heard an analysis of the official record. Every claim, name and date mentioned in this episode is backed by primary source documents. You can view the original files for yourself at Epsteinfiles fm. If you value this data first approach to journalism. Please leave a five star review wherever you're listening right now. It helps keep this investigation visible. We'll see you in the next file.