对杰弗里·爱泼斯坦前新墨西哥牧场涉嫌犯罪的调查似乎正在加剧，这进一步给司法部及其代理司法部长托德·布兰奇施加了更大压力，尤其是在处理与这位已故儿童性犯罪者相关事务时。
新墨西哥州总检察长劳尔·托雷斯周三提起诉讼，指控司法部“隐瞒爱泼斯坦及其同谋的信息”，并“阻挠”州政府的调查。这起诉讼发生在同一天，州所谓的“真相委员会”——由州众议院四名议员领导——发布了一份临时报告，誓言“揭开许多人长期视而不见的真相”。
托雷斯在周三的诉讼中写道：“新墨西哥州是少数仍有机会追究爱泼斯坦同伙责任或为幸存者提供某种正义感的司法管辖区之一。”他补充道：“联邦的不作为不仅拖延了调查；它延长并加剧了幸存者的痛苦。”
真相委员会周三发布的中期报告称，利用司法部的爱泼斯坦档案来“建立可核查且完整的相关事实时间序列极其繁琐且耗时”，并且“司法部根据《爱泼斯坦档案透明法》（EFTA）而被扣留的所有记录都应予以公开。”
托雷斯的诉讼和委员会的报告都加剧了对司法部处理爱泼斯坦案的批评——正值该机构负责爱泼斯坦事务的布兰奇正拼命安抚参议员，争取确认成为特朗普总统下一任司法部长之际。
布兰奇的提名在周二通过了一个关键障碍，顺利通过了一个委员会，准备进行全院投票，但他现在只能失去两张共和党选票以获得确认。
司法部在向CNN发表关于托雷斯诉讼的声明中表示，没有义务分享未经涂黑的文件，受害者的隐私权重于请求。
“新墨西哥州没有提供任何合法依据来为如此广泛的披露辩护，“司法部发言人说。
当CNN在周三的新闻发布会上请托雷斯回应该声明时，他说：“假装他们不能修改保护令，或者假装他们突然关心幸存者的权利和利益，而他们过去未能证明这一点——我认为这没有任何真正的可信度。”
俄
克拉荷马城的伊丽莎·斯坦德里奇于3月8日国际妇女节当天，在新墨西哥州斯坦利附近，为佐罗牧场入口处的纪念碑进行净化，该牧场曾属于杰弗里·爱泼斯坦。
丽贝卡·诺布尔／路透社 平行探针间张力的迹象
来自总检察长办公室和真相委员会同日发布的最新消息也引发了关于这两个表面上为共同目标调查爱泼斯坦佐罗牧场而努力的机构之间可能存在的冲突和紧张关系的质疑。委员会的中期报告称，目前正与新墨西哥州司法部就信息共享协议进行谈判，并建议两方“在对受害者、证人及其他人进行访谈和证词时协调和协作”。
然而，报告指出：“目前，委员会与NMDOJ未能达成协议。”
在最近与CNN的对话中，爱泼斯坦幸存者对这两起平行调查以及两机构是否协同工作表示困惑。
国会在去年底通过一项两党法案，迫使司法部公开了数百万份与爱泼斯坦相关的文件，但这些公开的文件包含大量且在某些情况下被粗略涂黑——导致受害者信息被泄露——这引发了立法者和幸存者的更多批评。司法部内部监督机构正在审查删减流程。
上个月，托雷斯在致布兰奇的一封严厉信中指责司法部拒绝访问未经删节的文件，并认为缺乏合作阻碍了州政府为幸存者伸张正义。
司法部今年早些时候公布的与爱泼斯坦相关的大量文件中，有一份2019年发给当地电台主持人的电子邮件中未经证实的指控，称“在佐罗河外的某处山丘上，有两名外国女孩被杰弗里和G夫人下令埋葬”。根据周三的诉讼，司法部公布的档案中包含“超过13，000条关于佐罗牧场的提及，以及5，000条关于新墨西哥州作为受害者被贩卖、诱骗和遭受袭击地点的提及。”
真相委员会的中期报告未得出任何结论或调查建议，强调该小组的工作仍在进行中。这份119页的报告大部分内容基于司法部已公开的爱泼斯坦档案。小组表示，仍在积极征求幸存者、目击者及其他公众成员的信息和线索，并可能尝试获取部分证人的宣誓证词。
报告还列出了委员会关注的几个广泛领域，除了爱泼斯坦涉嫌在佐罗牧场虐待女孩和妇女之外。报告称，这些包括“爱泼斯坦对优生学和超人类主义的兴趣，以及他促成强制怀孕和非自愿医疗程序的报道”——这提醒人们佐罗牧场一直是阴谋论和猜测的源头。
例如，报告提到联邦调查局2019年收到的一项据称线报称牧场埋葬了“两具尸体”。报告称：“通过前司法部长赫克托·巴尔德拉斯的证词，这些信息显示，线索在交给联邦调查局时从未向他的办公室提供。”“该主张的有效性未知，其来源也不得而知。”
截至目前，委员会已向20个机构或机构发出传票——其中一半“完全合规”，据周三报告称，记录超过10万条。
包括查恩泰·戴维斯和已故弗吉尼亚·朱弗雷在内的一些爱泼斯坦幸存者表示，佐罗牧场是他们遭受性侵的地方之一。另一位爱泼斯坦幸存者瑞秋·贝纳维德斯周三在真相委员会听证会上发言，称爱泼斯坦受害者厌倦了等待问责。
今年二月，托雷斯重新开启了州政府对该物业的刑事调查，他称该调查于2019年应联邦检察官要求结案。
同月，州议会通过了一项法案，成立真相委员会，同时调查佐罗牧场。此后，委员会召开了多次公开会议，并多次发出传票，包括向多个美国检察官办公室，以及托雷斯和州长米歇尔·卢汉·格里沙姆办公室发出传票，要求提供信息。
周三，委员会宣布了多项额外传票，包括对圣菲的万波水疗中心的传票，该传票在爱泼斯坦档案中有提及。
Investigations into Epstein’s mysterious New Mexico ranch add pressure on the Justice Department
Investigations into alleged crimes that took place at Jeffrey Epstein’s former New Mexico ranch appear to be ramping up， adding even more pressure to the Justice Department and its acting attorney general， Todd Blanche， over how they handled matters related to the late child sex offender．
New Mexico’s Attorney General Raúl Torrez fileda lawsuit Wednesday over what Torrez described as the DOJ’s “hiding information about Epstein and his co-conspirators” and “stonewalling” the state’sinvestigation． The suit cameon the same day that the state’s so-called “Truth Commission” – led by four members of the state’s House of Representatives – released an interim report vowing to “uncover the truth so many for too long were blind to．”
“New Mexico is one of few jurisdictions that still may have an opportunity to hold Epstein’s associates accountable or otherwise provide some sense of justice to survivors，” Torrez wrote in Wednesday’s lawsuit． He added： “Federal inaction does not merely stall the investigation； it prolongs and compounds the suffering of survivors．”
The Truth Commission’s interim report released on Wednesday said that using the DOJ’s Epstein files to “establish a verifiable and complete chronology of relevant facts isextremely tedious and time-consuming，” and that “all records that the DOJ are withholding subject to the EFTA （Epstein Files Transparency Act） should be released．”
Both Torrez’s lawsuit and the commission’s report add to the drumbeat of criticism overthe Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein case – at a moment when Blanche， the agency’s point person on all things Epstein， isfuriously workingto mollify senators and secure his confirmation to be President Trump’s next attorney general．
Blanche’s nomination passed a key hurdle Tuesday as it advanced out of a committee for a full Senate vote， but he can now only lose two GOP votes to win confirmation．
The Justice Department， in a statement to CNN about Torrez’s lawsuit， said that it is not required to share the unredacted files and that victims’ privacy outweighs the request．
“New Mexico has provided no lawful basis to justify such sweeping disclosures，” a Justice Department spokesperson said．
When CNN asked Torrez to respond to that statement in a press conference Wednesday， he said： “To pretend that they cannot modify a protective order or to pretend that they are suddenly concerned with survivors’ rights and interests when they have failed to demonstrate that in the past – I think that that doesn’t have any real credibility．”
Elisa Standridge， of Oklahoma City， cleanses a memorial at the entrance to Zorro Ranch， a property formerly owned by Jeffrey Epstein， on International Women’s Day near Stanley， New Mexico， on March 8． Rebecca Noble／Reuters Signs of tension between parallel probes
Updates from both the attorney general’s office and the Truth Commission coming on the same day also raise questions about potential conflicts and tension between the two bodies ostensibly working toward the shared goal of investigating Epstein’s Zorro Ranch． The commission’s interim report saysthat it is “currently engaged in negotiations” with the New Mexico’s DOJ about an agreement on information-sharing， and that the panel is proposing that the two entities “coordinate and collaborate when conducting interviews and depositions of victims， witnesses， and other persons．”
However， the report notes： “At this time， the Commission and NMDOJ have been unable to reach an agreement．”
In recent conversations with CNN， Epstein survivors have expressed confusion about the two parallel investigations and whether the two bodies are working in tandem．
Congress forced the DOJ to release millions of files related to Epstein with the passage of a bipartisan bill late last year， but the released files include heavy and， in some cases， bungled redactions – which resulted in revealing victims’ information – prompting even more criticism from lawmakers and survivors． DOJ’s internal watchdog is reviewing the redaction process．
Last month， in a scathing letter to Blanche， Torrez accused the DOJ of withholding access to un-redacted files and argued that the lack of cooperation is preventing the state from bringing justice to survivors．
Among the trove of files related to Epstein that the DOJ released earlier this year was an unverified allegation in a 2019 email to a local radio host that “somewhere in the hills outside the Zorro， two foreign girls were buried on orders of Jeffrey and Madam G．” According to Wednesday’s lawsuit， the files released by the DOJ included “over 13，000 references to Zorro Ranch and 5，000 references to New Mexico as locations where victims were trafficked， groomed， and assaulted．”
The Truth Commission’s interim report does not draw any conclusions or make investigative recommendations， emphasizing that the panel’s work is ongoing． The bulk of the 119-page report is based on Epstein files already released by the Justice Department． The panel said it is still actively soliciting information and tips from survivors， witnesses and other members of the public， and that it may attempt to obtain sworn testimony from certain witnesses．
The report also lays out several broad areas of interest for the commission beyond Epstein’s alleged abuse of girls and women at Zorro Ranch． They include “Epstein’s interest in eugenics and transhumanism， as well as reports that he facilitated forced impregnation and non-consensual medical procedures，” according to the report – a reminder that the Zorro Ranch has been the source of conspiracy theories and speculation．
For example， the report referencesan alleged tip that the FBI received in 2019 that said “two dead bodies” were buried at the ranch． “That information， through testimony of former Attorney General Hector Balderas， revealed that tip was never provided to his office at the time it was given to the FBI，” the report says． “The validity of the claim is unknown， nor is its source known．”
To date， the commission has issued subpoenas to 20 institutions or agencies – half of which have been in “full compliance，” according to Wednesday’s report， resulting in over 100，000 records．
Some Epstein survivors， including Chauntae Davies and the late Virginia Giuffre， have said the Zorro Ranch was one of the places where they were sexually assaulted． Another Epstein survivor， Rachel Benavidez， spoke at the Truth Commission’s hearing on Wednesday and said Epstein victims were tired of waiting for accountability．
In February， Torrez reopened the state’s criminal investigation into the property， which he said closed in 2019 at the request of federal prosecutors．
The same month， the state’s legislature passed a measure to create the Truth Commission to also investigate Zorro Ranch． Since then， the commission has since held several public meetings and issued multiple subpoenas， including to several US attorneys offices， as well as the offices of Torrez and Gov． Michelle Lujan Grisham， for information．
On Wednesday， the commission announced several additional subpoenas， including to the Ten Thousand Waves Spa in Santa Fe， which is referenced in the Epstein files．
