Melanie D'Arrigo claims Trump's DOJ is obstructing Epstein ranch investigation

Melanie D'Arrigo, a Democratic activist and healthcare advocate who ran for Congress in New York's 3rd District in 2022, accused the Justice Department (DOJ) of doing President Donald Trump's bidding by obstructing the criminal probe into disgraced billionaire Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch in Santa Fe County. "If you don't understand that Trump's DOJ is protecting Trump and his billionaire pedophile friends, then you haven't been paying attention," she wrote on X.

Her post came in the wake of New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez sending a letter to Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and Associate Deputy Attorney General Diego Pestana demanding that the DOJ immediately furnish unredacted Epstein files that have been in its possession for "years." Torrez stated that the initial request was sent more than 130 days ago, characterising the delay as "unreasonable."

The letter asserted that the New Mexico Department of Justice (NMDOJ) is the only agency conducting a criminal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's alleged crimes at the ranch, adding that it needs the DOJ's help to identify survivors, witnesses, and co-conspirators, even though the federal agency had previously offered assurances of cooperation. Torrez claims the DOJ holds records and investigative materials crucial to the state's probe, without which the survivors are being "denied justice."

The letter revealed that the redacted records in the DOJ's custody contained the "names of survivors, witnesses, co-conspirators, and other individuals" whose identities are essential to the NMDOJ's ability to investigate and prosecute criminal conduct. Torrez has urged the DOJ to furnish the records to the NMDOJ by July 31, and if they fail to comply, then the agency will consider its request as "denied."

The letter offered a timeline of NMDOJ's efforts to obtain the records through "cooperative means." It first sent a letter to Blanche on February 13 this year requesting access, followed by a formal letter to then Attorney General Pam Bondi on March 13. Pestana then asked the NMDOJ to submit a formal Touhy letter, which they submitted by May 3, followed by multiple reminders. Torrex also called for an in-person conference during his visit to Washington, D.C in June, but this went unanswered.

A DOJ spokeswoman, Kiersten Pels, said the agency "welcomes New Mexico undertaking additional investigation of the Zorro Ranch and stands ready to provide necessary assistance with New Mexico's investigation," in a statement to the New York Times, which noted that the remote property has largely flown under the radar of investigators, even as multiple Epstein's victims said that they were trafficked and abused at the site.

Torrez noted that the delay erodes the "foundation" of the prosecution's case. "Witnesses relocate and become unreachable. Memories, already strained by years of trauma, fade further. Physical and documentary evidence degrades, is lost, or is rendered more difficult to authenticate with the passage of time. Beyond the evidentiary impacts, continued delay creates legal hurdles related to statutes of limitation and due process," the letter asserted.