New Mexico’s top law enforcement official is fed up and claiming that the Justice Department — effectively acting at the behest of President Donald Trump — is obstructing an investigation of Jeffrey Epstein’s former ranch.

On Thursday, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez sent a letter to acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche — a former Trump defense attorney who has sought to prevent further release of the Epstein files. Torrez criticized the DOJ for failing to turn over records he requested that might shine light on the estate, known as Zorro Ranch.

New Mexico lawmakers and authorities opened investigations into Zorro Ranch and Epstein’s other ties to the state after a document released by the DOJ earlier this year outlined an allegation that the late convicted sex offender had the bodies of two women buried near the estate. The ranch reportedly was also where Epstein envisioned launching an effort to populate the planet with children bearing his genes, though there’s no evidence thus far that he acted on the eugenicist plan.

The ranch has recently garnered controversy for Texas Republican Don Huffines, whose family purchased the ranch. Amid backlash, Huffines has vowed to turn the estate into a Christian camp.

In his letter, Torrez wrote:

Without complete and prompt access to relevant unredacted records held by the United States Department of Justice (“USDOJ”), survivors of serious criminal conduct at Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch in New Mexico are being denied justice. That harm is a direct consequence of the USDOJ’s continued failure to comply with the NMDOJ’s outstanding records request.

Torrez, who threatened to pursue a state court subpoena if necessary, also warned that the DOJ is causing “real and escalating harm” to his office’s investigation:

Every day that the USDOJ withholds these records, the foundation upon which a New Mexico prosecution could be built erodes. Witnesses relocate and become unreachable. Memories, already strained by years of trauma, fade further. Physical and documentary evidence degrades, is lost, or is rendered more difficult to authenticate with the passage of time.

In a statement, a spokesperson said the DOJ “substantively responded last month” to requests from Torrez’s office, adding: “The DOJ reiterates that it welcomes New Mexico undertaking additional investigation of the Zorro Ranch and stands ready to provide necessary assistance with New Mexico’s investigation.”

Torrez’s letter refers to a request the U.S. Justice Department made during Trump’s first term in 2019, in which it asked New Mexico’s Justice Department to suspend its investigation.

Ja’han Jones

Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.