The FBI never searched Zorro Ranch – not once in the six years between Epstein's arrest and his death.
New Mexico just found out why, and it traces back to a single email from a very familiar name.
What that email says – and who sent it – is what investigators are now demanding Congress and the DOJ explain.
How the FBI Buried the Epstein Zorro Ranch Investigation in 2019
Zorro Ranch is the 7,500-acre New Mexico estate Epstein purchased in 1993 – a remote compound south of Santa Fe where multiple survivors say he trafficked and sexually abused young girls for decades.
In September 2019, New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas was six months into an active criminal investigation of the property.
Then a legal team from the Southern District of New York called and ordered him to stand down.
The stated reason was that parallel interviews could produce conflicting witness statements.
Balderas agreed to pause – because, as he later put it, the feds had "the bigger hammer at the time."
The feds promised to share their findings and coordinate the investigation.
They never did.
The Southern District formally dismissed the Epstein sex trafficking case on August 29, 2019 – ten days after Epstein was found dead in his cell.
On September 8, assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey – the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey – confirmed in writing that Balderas's office had agreed to halt its work and hand over all evidence.
An internal federal email from December 2019 confirmed the FBI had "not searched the New Mexico property" – even as agents were wrapping up the broader investigation.
By July 2020, Balderas sent a letter demanding federal prosecutors seize Zorro Ranch through civil forfeiture.
"We believe that this ranch was utilized by Epstein and others to facilitate and conceal the ongoing trafficking of children," Balderas wrote.
He never received a response.
When the Trump administration released over three million pages of Epstein files in January 2026, New Mexico's investigative records weren't among them.
"There definitely was withholding of information in our investigation," Balderas said recently. "A real question is why? I do believe we experienced some of the first signs of the early cover-up, absolutely."
Bill Richardson Named in Epstein Files Over 800 Times
New Mexico lawmakers voted unanimously to establish a four-member House panel with full subpoena authority – the Truth Commission – charged with investigating what happened at Zorro Ranch and why law enforcement protected it for decades.
The national media has largely ignored it.
The Truth Commission's subpoenas are now specifically targeting records tied to former Democrat Governor Bill Richardson – a Clinton Cabinet official whose name appears more than 800 times in the Epstein files.
Richardson's spokesperson claimed in 2019 that the governor had visited Zorro Ranch only once, in 2012.
Released documents show Richardson and Epstein coordinating dinners and phone calls across multiple years.
One email thread from November 2010 – while Richardson was still serving as governor – shows an aide writing to Epstein's assistant to arrange Richardson's visit to Epstein's private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
"His wife is here with a group of girl friends so it will just be him," the aide wrote.
Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre testified in 2016 that she had been directed to have sex with Richardson.
Richardson denied the allegations before his death in 2023.
The University of New Mexico Hospital quietly removed Richardson's name from one of its buildings in February 2026 – after the Epstein files dropped and a public petition circulated.
The Truth Commission is now demanding records from the New Mexico Governor's Office tied specifically to Richardson's activities.
Epstein Truth Commission Subpoenas FBI DOJ Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan
The Truth Commission has issued 14 subpoenas targeting the institutions that investigated Epstein, banked for him, or funded his operation.
Targets include the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI, the New Mexico Department of Justice, the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, and both of Epstein's major banks – Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase.
The commission is also subpoenaing the Santa Fe Institute, a nonprofit research organization Epstein bankrolled for years.
Running parallel, Attorney General Raúl Torrez opened a separate criminal investigation in February 2026 and ordered over two dozen corporations – including JPMorgan, Google, and American Express – to preserve all records connected to Zorro Ranch.
In March, investigators searched the property for the first time.
The Epstein Cover Up Unravels as New Mexico Closes In
The Trump DOJ's January 2026 document release didn't just name names – it destroyed the cover story federal prosecutors had been running for six years.
The story was always the same: the feds were building something bigger, something more aggressive, and state interference would only complicate it.
Three million pages of files proved they were building nothing at all.
They ran out the clock.
Two simultaneous investigations – one criminal, one legislative – are now closing in on a question six years in the making: what happened at Zorro Ranch, and which powerful men made sure nobody would ever find out.
Sources:
- Hector Balderas, quoted by Scripps News Group, June 2026.
- "Feds Told New Mexico to Back Off Epstein. Then They Did Nothing," Albuquerque Journal, March 2026.
- "New Mexico Truth Commission Issues New Subpoenas in Jeffrey Epstein Probe," Albuquerque Journal, June 18, 2026.
- "New Mexico 'Truth Commission' Begins Investigation into Epstein's Zorro Ranch, Will Issue Subpoenas," The Hill, June 1, 2026.
- "Records Show Gov. Richardson Met with Epstein for Years After Conviction," Santa Fe New Mexican, February 2026.
- "UNM Quietly Removes Bill Richardson Name from Children's Hospital Amid Jeffrey Epstein Ties," Albuquerque Journal, February 2026.
- Raúl Torrez, quoted by Wall Street Journal, June 2026.