New Mexico lawmakers on Tuesday launched a “truth commission” investigation into past activity at Jeffrey Epstein’s secluded desert ranch, as state lawmakers sought to answer questions they said have lingered since federal investigations failed to produce an official record. The bipartisan panel, made up of four state House members, will focus on allegations that Epstein’s Zorro Ranch facilitated sexual abuse and sex trafficking and on whether state or local authorities “looked the other way,” according to lawmakers announcing the effort in Santa Fe.
Lawmakers said the commission will also examine the circumstances around Epstein’s sex-offender registration status after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution involving an underage girl. State House members said they want to know why Epstein was not registered as a sex offender in New Mexico after that plea, and whether corruption among public officials played a role.
At a news conference, Democratic state Rep. Marianna Anaya of Albuquerque, a member of the truth commission, urged people with information about abuse at the ranch to come forward. Anaya said, speaking from the premise that “That perpetrator could not act alone,” that anyone who enabled wrongdoing “must also be held accountable,” including potentially “the state itself,” and she told reporters that the commission would operate with confidentiality.
The effort follows the spotlight that has returned to the ranch linked to Epstein, whose ties to multiple high-profile figures have contributed in recent days to leadership departures or ousters, lawmakers said. Epstein purchased the sprawling Zorro Ranch in New Mexico in 1993 from former Democratic Gov. Bruce King and later built a 26,700-square-foot hilltop mansion with a private runway, the announcement said.
Lawmakers also pointed to what happened after Epstein’s death in 2019, when he killed himself in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial on charges tied to allegations that he sexually abused and trafficked dozens of underage girls. The announcement said the property was sold in 2023 by Epstein’s estate, with proceeds going toward creditors, to the family of Don Huffines, a Republican candidate in Texas for election to the office of state comptroller.
In a social media post on X, Huffines said the ranch had been renamed San Rafael Ranch and that his family planned to operate a Christian retreat there. Huffines also said that any request by law enforcement for access would be met with “immediate and full cooperation,” according to the lawmakers’ account.
Truth commission chairwoman and state Rep. Andrea Romero of Santa Fe said the panel is meant to fill “the gaps of what we need to know” about years of allegations and rumors regarding Epstein’s activities at the ranch, which is about 35 miles south of Santa Fe. Romero said federal investigations had failed to put together an official record, and the new state effort would instead compile that record through state action.
The commission chair said the panel will include retired FBI agent and Republican state Rep. William Hall of Aztec, as well as former district attorney and state Rep. Andrea Reeb of Clovis. New Mexico lawmakers who were present voted unanimously on Monday to create the commission with subpoena power and a budget of more than $2 million.
The announcement also noted that, while Epstein never faced charges in New Mexico, the state attorney general’s office in 2019 confirmed it was investigating and had interviewed possible victims who visited the ranch. In addition, it said New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez ordered in 2023 an investigation into financial businesses used by Epstein and their legal obligations, which led to agreements with two banks that dedicate $17 million to the prevention of human trafficking, according to a spokesperson for Torrez’s office.