New Mexico lawmakers launch probe into Epstein’s Zorro Ranch 

Lawmakers in the US state of New Mexico have approved the first fully-fledged investigation into Zorro Ranch, a sprawling property where the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is alleged to have trafficked and sexually assaulted girls and women.

The legislation, which passed New Mexico’s House of Representatives by a unanimous vote on Monday, forms a bipartisan “truth commission”.

Its four members will seek testimony from victims and local residents about the ranch, located about 55km (34 miles) south of the state capital, Santa Fe.

Members are slated to begin work on Tuesday, with an initial update to be delivered in July and a full report by the end of this year.

The move comes in the wake of the release of more than three million previously unpublicised files related to the disgraced financier, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

State Representative Melanie Stansbury said in a video posted after the vote that the commission will “help to bring forward a full picture of what happened here in New Mexico”.

“The crimes that were reported to federal and state authorities were never fully investigated,” Stansbury said. The probe seeks to “ensure we have safeguards in place not only to hold those individuals accountable, who were complicit, but to ensure that this can never happen again”.

Epstein bought the 7,600-acre (3075-hectare) property, which included a hilltop mansion and private runway, from former New Mexico Democrat Governor Bruce King in 1993.

Victim advocates say Epstein trafficked and sexually abused girls at the so-called “playboy ranch” as early as 1996, including Virginia Giuffre, the prominent victim who accused Epstein and the disgraced British royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of abuse.

Multiple civil lawsuits specify the ranch as a site of abuse. Epstein’s habit of flying “masseuses” to the property – as well as hiring local massage therapists – was also revealed in the Epstein files as part of a ranch manager’s 2007 testimony to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Epstein was never charged with crimes related to the site.

“Many of the survivors had experiences in New Mexico, and as we’ve learned, you know, there were local politicians and other people that were aware of what was happening in New Mexico,” said Sigrid McCawley, a lawyer whose law firm has represented hundreds of Epstein survivors.

Yet federal investigators never cast their eye on the property, according to Andrea Romero, a New Mexico state representative who co-sponsored the legislation.

And while New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas attempted to kick off a probe in 2019, federal prosecutors asked for it to be put on hold to avoid a “parallel investigation”, he said in a statement.

Epstein “was basically doing anything he wanted in this estate without any accountability whatsoever”, Romero said.

The committee – which will have subpoena power – aims to close that gap by gathering testimony that could be used in future litigation, Romero said. New Mexico’s state attorney general has also allocated a special agent to look into any allegations that arise.

The ranch was sold at a 2023 auction to the family of Don Huffines, a former Republican Texas senator who is now running for Texas state comptroller, the Santa Fe New Mexican media outlet reported. A family spokesperson said they would give investigators “full and complete cooperation”.