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By Sam Stevenson
Associate News Editor
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New Mexico lawmakers expect to gain access to Jeffrey Epstein’s former Zorro Ranch “sooner rather than later” as part of the first‑ever on‑site investigation into alleged atrocities committed there, the state representative leading the effort has told Newsweek.
The sprawling 7,500-acre-plus Santa Fe ranch, now owned by self-described MAGA Republican Don Huffines and renamed San Rafael Ranch, “after the saint associated with physical and spiritual healing,” is set to be investigated by a nonpartisan New Mexico House of Representatives-led panel.
A spokesman for Huffines told Newsweek that the businessman and former GOP state senator purchased the property four years after Epstein’s death and had never visited it before its auction listing.
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Huffines has since said on social media that the ranch was always open to law enforcement, that proceeds from its sale benefited Epstein survivors, and that the estate would be converted into a “Christian retreat, reclaiming it for Jesus.”
He later appeared on The Matt Gaetz Show on One America News, where he said the “main reason” for buying the property was to “put light in a dark place,” adding that construction of a Christian retreat was already underway.
Newsweek reached out to the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office and Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office via email, and New Mexico’s Department of Justice via a contact form on its website for comment outside of regular business hours.
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Why It Matters
Civil lawsuits, such as court filings from the late-Virginia Giuffre (who was pictured in a Santa Fe museum while staying at Epstein’s property in New Mexico aged 19), have named Zorro Ranch as a site of abuse, and two of the four victims who testified at Ghislaine Maxwell’s federal sex‑trafficking trial said they were assaulted there.
What To Know
The renewed focus on Zorro Ranch follows the launch of New Mexico’s “Epstein Truth Commission,” a four‑member House panel established to investigate allegations of abuse and trafficking linked to the late financier’s vast property outside Santa Fe.
Speaking to Newsweek, Democratic state Representative Andrea Romero, who sponsored the legislation and is leading the effort, said access to the ranch itself is a central priority for lawmakers.
“There are folks of interest and locations of interest that we will likely visit—the Zorro Ranch absolutely being at the top of that list,” Romero said. “So, no doubt that that will occur sooner rather than later.”
She said that the commission had “not made any official inquiry” or “issued any subpoenas” to date, but continued: “We're prepared to issue subpoenas for folks who don't want to necessarily come and talk to us,” adding that the probe would be “thorough” and leave “no stone unturned.”
Romero said one of the most striking gaps lawmakers are seeking to address is the fact that the property has never been examined by authorities.
“Nobody has ever visited the ranch in any official capacity to obtain information or cover what even the lay of the land is,” she said.
She also pointed to past investigative failures, saying New Mexico authorities were prevented from pursuing their own probe after Epstein’s arrest in 2019.
“They told New Mexico, stand down. We have this investigation under our jurisdiction. Do not do an investigation,” Romero said, referring to federal authorities at the time.
“So now is our opportunity as a state to fully investigate this.”
Former New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas told Source NM on Tuesday that his office investigated Epstein and Maxwell’s Zorro Ranch activities before federal prosecutors asked the state to halt its inquiry.
Romero echoed comments by Democratic U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury, who serves on the federal committee that has released documents from the 2019 federal sex‑trafficking case against Epstein and has described what happened in New Mexico as a miscarriage of justice.
“If that is not a mishandling of justice, I mean, what is?” Romero said.
The commission, which is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, is expected to scrutinize all available evidence regardless of political affiliation.
Romero acknowledged that could include figures from her own party.
“We’ve already seen partisan names that have been named—members of my own party,” she said. “If those folks were perpetrators, they will be put on the record.”
Romero was also candid about the commission’s limits and ambitions.
The panel does not have the power to bring criminal charges, and statutes of limitation may prevent some cases from being prosecuted.
Its role, she said, is to establish an official public record and identify gaps in the law that lawmakers could later seek to change.
On Tuesday, the Truth Commission held its first official meeting, formally beginning its work and outlining next steps for gathering testimony, documents, and public records.
What People Are Saying
Romeo told Newsweek: “This is so terrifying that this happened in our community, and so for us to have an official record about what occurred will provide us with the tools and resources of justice that will help us thoroughly investigate what went on.”
She added: “We're looking to our laws to try to figure out how there are gaps still for victims to come forward and seek justice, and we're looking to statutes of limitations to change to help victims who may want to seek that justice further.
On what accountability would look like at the end of this process, she said: “The first bit of business that we have to do as a commission is to get the truth out there and the record correct about the various crimes committed."
She added: “This isn't a live criminal case at present, for the laws that we already know have lapsed for victims to come forward, we need to basically, potentially change the laws to be able to create that opportunity for justice for these survivors, victims who have come forward."
“So while we're not a law enforcement agency ... the law enforcement in New Mexico is actively working with us on anything that they can prosecute and bring to justice in that at present, but the record will show and indicate what perpetrators will be named that may not be able to have their day in court today. But should the laws of New Mexico change, we will actively be looking to seek justice for the victims.”
U.S. Representative Stansbury told a news conference on Tuesday ahead of the Truth Commission’s first meeting: “New Mexico is taking action where the federal government has thus far failed to follow up.
“It is a structured process through which survivors can come forward, witnesses can come forward, we can uncover a full picture of what happened and why the justice system has failed survivors in our state…This is what the U.S. DOJ should be doing in every single case at the federal level.”
Former New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas said in an email to Source NM on Tuesday: “Our office investigated activity that occurred in New Mexico that was still viable for prosecution, including contact with multiple victims.
“During that time, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York asked that we pause any further state investigation or prosecution of activity related to Epstein, as they communicated to us that they were leading an active multi-jurisdictional prosecution.
“We provided all of our reports and interviews to them to ensure that they had all investigative leads and to pause from further parallel investigation. We did not close [the] matter, and continued to offer our resources to the DOJ and forwarded evidence to the U.S. Attorney for prosecution.
“Our office requested that the U.S. DOJ use any asset forfeiture tools at their disposal to seize the ranch and that any proceeds from activity there be used to provide compensation to victims.”
A spokesman for the Huffines family, Allen Blakemore, told Newsweek in an emailed statement: "Four years after Mr. Epstein’s death, the Huffines family purchased property in New Mexico listed at public auction whose proceeds benefited his victims. Prior to the auction listing, they had never visited the property.
"The owners have never been approached by local, state, or federal law enforcement requesting access to the San Rafael Ranch. If, they do, of course they will be granted full and complete cooperation."
Huffines wrote in a post on X: "In 2023, four years after Epstein’s death, San Rafael Ranch had been listed on the open market for years and was scheduled for public auction.
"At the time of the sale, it was marketed that the proceeds would go to the victims. It has since been confirmed by the estate’s attorneys that proceeds from the sale benefited the victims.
"What the enemy once meant for evil, God can redeem for good. That’s why we renamed the property San Rafael, after the saint associated with physical and spiritual healing, and began plans immediately to remake it as a Christian retreat, reclaiming it for Jesus. Even the new entrance will reflect that mission and will read, ‘BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO COME IN THE NAME OF THE LORD.’"
He added: "By 2024, my family’s ownership was public and had been posted on social media.
"We have always maintained an open line of communication with local authorities. No law enforcement agency has ever approached me to request access, and I have always said unequivocally that any such request would be met with immediate access and full cooperation.
"This is what desperate political opponents do: last-minute lies and dirty tricks."
What Happens Next
The commission plans to pursue access to the former Zorro Ranch and other locations of interest, working alongside the New Mexico Department of Justice and using subpoenas where cooperation is not forthcoming.
Its immediate focus will be building an official public record of what occurred, while lawmakers consider whether changes to state law are needed to allow survivors to seek justice.
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