A bipartisan New Mexico commission investigating Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch announced Monday that it will issue subpoenas to multiple federal and state agencies, including the FBI and the Department of Justice, as lawmakers revisit longstanding questions surrounding alleged criminal activity at the property and the institutions that failed to stop it.
The New Mexico Truth Commission approved subpoenas for 14 entities tied either to previous investigations into Epstein or to operations linked to the ranch near Santa Fe. Those include the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, the New Mexico Department of Justice, JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank and the Santa Fe Institute.
Lawmakers said the commission aims to establish "a complete documented public record" of alleged sex trafficking, abuse and institutional failures connected to Epstein's activities in New Mexico.
"We will name who was responsible and we will do so with the evidentiary rigor that survivors deserve," state Rep. Andrea Reeb, a Republican and former prosecutor, said during Monday's hearing, as reported by The Hill.
The hearing also featured testimony from alleged victims and relatives of survivors, including Rachel Benavidez, a New Mexico woman who said Epstein sexually abused her after she was hired as a massage therapist at the ranch.
"In 2019, when Jeffrey Epstein was arrested, I spoke out about the sexual abuse and crimes he committed against me," Benavidez told lawmakers, as Albuquerque Journal reports. "I am here again today in 2026, as a 52-year-old woman, speaking out and trying to find truth and justice, and still no answers."
Sky Roberts, brother of the late Virginia Giuffre, urged New Mexico officials to pursue accountability, saying the state faced a choice between "protect[ing] power over people" or leading efforts toward justice for survivors.
The subpoenas come months after New Mexico lawmakers unanimously approved legislation creating the commission to investigate alleged criminal activity at Zorro Ranch, where Epstein was accused in multiple civil lawsuits of sexually abusing girls but was never criminally charged.
Additional FBI records released earlier this year showed agents in Albuquerque investigated claims that a centuries-old church "death bell" stolen in the 1930s may have been stored at the ranch. The inquiry was eventually closed without a search warrant being issued. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez reopened the state's investigation into the ranch earlier this year and has encouraged victims and witnesses to come forward.
