FILE-A close-up image of a tablet screen displaying a portrait of Jeffrey Epstein beside the official U.S. Department of Justice website page titled Epstein Library in Washington, D.C. on February 11, 2026. Photo by Véronique Tournier / Hans Lucas …
The Justice Department said it was forbidden by law from releasing unredacted files on Jeffrey Epstein requested by New Mexico.
Reuters reported that New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez released a letter on July 14 accusing the Department of Justice of intentionally obstructing the state’s criminal probe of Epstein by failing to furnish the files.
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New Mexico reopened an investigation in February into activities at Epstein’s former ranch near Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he allegedly abused women and girls for nearly 30 years.
According to Reuters, in response to New Mexico’s request for unredacted files, Torrez stated that the U.S. Attorney's Office for New Mexico on July 10 provided 31 pages of documents that had already been made public, contained redacted material that was unusable or were photocopies of local news stories.
Justice Department statement on unredacted Epstein files
What they're saying:
Reuters obtained a statement from a Justice Department spokesperson on the unredacted Epstein files that read: "Federal law, court orders, and privacy protections for victims and witnesses do not allow us to release millions of unredacted documents. We will continue to follow federal law and the court orders that are in place."
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New Mexico's state legislature is launching an Epstein investigation and in June officials subpoenaed U.S. Attorneys' Offices in three states and the U.S. Virgin Islands for information on whether they probed Jeffrey Epstein and opted not to press charges.
Who was Jeffrey Epstein?
The backstory:
Jeffrey Epstein was a millionaire known for having connections to celebrities, politicians, and billionaires. In 2005, Epstein was accused of paying a 14-year-old girl for sex, and he was arrested a year later following a police investigation.
The Associated Press reported that dozens of other underage girls described similar sexual abuse allegations to authorities, but prosecutors allowed Epstein to plead guilty in 2008 to a charge involving one victim. He served 13 months in a jail work-release program.
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In 2024, documents were unsealed as part of a 2015 lawsuit filed against Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims. According to the AP, Guiffre is one of the dozens of women who sued Epstein, saying he abused them at his homes in Florida, New York, the U.S. Virgin Islands and New Mexico.
Federal prosecutors in New York charged Epstein in 2019 with sex trafficking, but he killed himself in jail while awaiting trial. Maxwell was prosecuted for helping recruit his underage victims, and she was convicted in 2021 and is currently serving a 20-year prison term.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by Reuters, which obtained a statement from the Justice Department, and previous FOX Local reporting. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.