LAWMAKERS in New Mexico have voted unanimously to establish a bipartisan commission to investigate alleged sexual abuse and trafficking linked to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein at his Zorro Ranch property near Santa Fe.
Reuters reported on Tuesday, that the legislation, passed by the state House of Representatives, creates what sponsors describe as the first full inquiry into events at the 7,600-acre estate, situated about 30 miles south of the state capital.
The four-member panel will have subpoena powers and is expected to seek testimony from survivors, local residents and officials who may have had knowledge of activities at the ranch.
Epstein died in 2019 in a New York jail in what authorities ruled a suicide while he was facing federal sex trafficking charges.
Although much federal attention centred on his Caribbean island and Manhattan townhouse, victim advocates argue that Zorro Ranch has received comparatively limited scrutiny.
“He was basically doing anything he wanted in this state without any accountability whatsoever,” said New Mexico state Representative Andrea Romero, a Democrat who co-sponsored the initiative.
She added that testimony gathered by the commission could be used in future prosecutions.
The inquiry follows the recent release by the U.S. Department of Justice of millions of Epstein-related files, which shed further light on activities at the ranch and reveal links between Epstein and former New Mexico political figures.
The development has increased political pressure at both state and federal levels to clarify the extent of his operations and associations.
Among the individuals named in unsealed material is the late former governor Bill Richardson. In a 2016 deposition, the late Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre testified that Ghislaine Maxwell had instructed her to give Richardson a “massage” at the ranch, which in her memoir she said was code for a sexual encounter. Richardson’s representative said in 2019 that Giuffre’s allegations were “completely false.”
The commission will also examine whether gaps in New Mexico law enabled Epstein to operate in the state for decades without meaningful intervention.
An earlier probe launched in 2019 by former state attorney general Hector Balderas was paused at the request of federal prosecutors to avoid what he described as a “parallel investigation.”
Current Attorney General Raul Torrez has assigned a special agent to review any new allegations emerging from the commission’s work.
Zorro Ranch, purchased by Epstein in 1993 from former governor Bruce King, was sold in 2023 to Texas businessman and politician Don Huffines, who has indicated he will cooperate with any law enforcement investigation.
Newly disclosed emails and testimony also highlight visits to the ranch by academics and business figures. Investment consultant Joshua Ramo said he attended a 2014 lunch at the property on behalf of professors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.
“I deferred to the due diligence of the institutions involved, assuming that his presence signaled he had been appropriately vetted,” Ramo said in a statement regarding his ranch visit and other meetings with Epstein. “I feel a deep sense of grief for the survivors of his crimes.”
Records further show that Epstein contacted Ramo in 2015 suggesting a meeting in Santa Fe, to which Ramo replied, “I assumed we were meeting at the pink bottom ranch.”
Ramo has said he does not recall the comment or whether such a meeting took place.
Political connections have also drawn renewed attention. Epstein contributed over the years to campaigns of New Mexico Democrats, including Richardson and Gary King, son of Bruce King and a former state attorney general. Emails indicate that when Gary King was running for governor in 2014, he flew on a plane chartered by Epstein, who proposed covering roughly half of the $22,000 cost. King did not respond to requests for comment.
The commission is scheduled to begin work immediately, with interim findings due in July and a final report by the end of the year.
Lawmakers say the investigation aims not only to establish a clearer record of what occurred at Zorro Ranch, but also to ensure that any legal or institutional failings that allowed abuse to persist are addressed. - February 17, 2026
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