The congressional inquiry into Jeffrey Epstein’s activities took a new turn on Tuesday, as a leading investigator accused Donald Trump’s Department of Justice of mishandling the investigation into Epstein’s New Mexico ranch. This accusation centers on the abrupt halt to a probe into the notorious financier’s Zorro Ranch, a sprawling 30,000-square-foot mansion nestled amidst vast grasslands.

In 2019, during Trump’s presidency, New Mexico state authorities were delving into allegations surrounding this remote estate. However, the federal Justice Department intervened, taking the case out of local hands and abruptly terminating the investigation. This decision came the same year Epstein was found dead in his jail cell, a death officially ruled as suicide while he awaited trial for federal sex trafficking charges.

James Comer, the Republican Chairman of the House Oversight Committee and a Trump ally, is at the forefront of the congressional examination into Epstein’s activities. On Tuesday, he expressed his concerns, stating, “The federal government asked New Mexico to stop their investigation, I believe, back in 2019 of that ranch.” Comer questioned the federal government’s actions, suggesting that their handling of the case did a disservice both to Epstein’s victims and to the pursuit of justice.

Located about 30 miles south of Santa Fe, Zorro Ranch has been shrouded in controversy. Numerous individuals who claim to have been victimized by Epstein allege that the mansion was a site of extensive abuse. Amid lingering questions about the federal response, Comer’s remarks underscore the complexities and failures in the government’s attempts to hold Epstein accountable before his death.

‘So there’s just so many questions about how the government failed, the victims and how government failed in trying to prosecute Epstein sooner. I mean, this whole thing doesn’t make sense.’

Zorro Ranch is roughly 30 miles south of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and is alleged to be the site of much wrongdoing. Self-proclaimed Epstein victims have alleged they were abused at the property.

Shocking files in the recently released DOJ Epstein trove claim – among other things – that two foreign women were killed during ‘rough sex’ at the property and later buried on site. Though the claims have come under much scrutiny. 

Those revelations and more recently prompted local authorities to reopen the probe into the ranch. Authorities began searching the property on Monday. The DOJ did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said on Fox News Tuesday evening that Trump’s Department of Justice shutdown a local New Mexico investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch in 2019

The FBI did not answer the Daily Mail’s inquiry this year about whether it ever searched the property. Above Epstein is shown at the New Mexico ranch

Epstein’s victims say they were abused at the property and some documents released by the DOJ claim two foreign women were killed and buried at the site, though the allegations have come under much scrutiny

An interior shot of the main house on Zorro Ranch 

The three-level main house spanned 30,000 square feet with four bedrooms, a living room, library (above) and gourmet kitchen

It’s unclear whether the site had already been searched by federal authorities or if it had been left untouched for years. 

The FBI told the Daily Mail last month that it would not comment on allegations it never searched Zorro Ranch. Some emails in the DOJ Epstein trove indicate that federal authorities never searched the 7,500-acre property. 

‘Everyone has conspiracy theories on how Epstein was able to get away with it,’ Comer said. 

‘Was it because he had powerful friends? Was it because he was an agent? We don’t know, but we’re gonna find out and I’m glad that they’re on the ground now in New Mexico searching that property.’

New Mexico State Attorney General Raul Torrez announced that state investigators began searching the ranch on Monday. 

‘Revelations outlined in the previously sealed FBI files warrant further examination,’ the state investigators said of the previous federal request. 

According to Comer, the DOJ’s Southern District of New York office shut down the 2019 local New Mexico probe into the Zorro Ranch.

‘It was the Department of Justice, I believe. And I believe it was because they had– I believe, it perhaps was Southern District of New York because they had taken over the investigation at that point.’ 

The plans show that Epstein’s master bedroom takes up most of the first floor, where there were also two relatively small en-suite bedrooms and a fourth ‘staff bedroom’

One of the four bedrooms inside the sprawling property 

Epstein bought Zorro in 1993 from former New Mexico governor Bruce King 

According to Comer, the DOJ’s Southern District of New York office shut down the 2019 local New Mexico probe into the Zorro Ranch

A drone view shows Zorro Ranch, a property formerly owned by Jeffrey Epstein, near Stanley, New Mexico, March 8, 2026 

‘So, again, these are questions that we have. We want to get the answers.’

Epstein ordered the burial of two ‘foreign girls’ near his ranch after they were strangled to death during ‘rough, fetish sex’, according to an email released by the DOJ earlier this year. 

The email, sent by a person claiming to have worked for Epstein, also includes links purporting to show the late pedophile engaging in sex with underage girls.

The correspondence, first sent to a man named Eddy Aragon on November 21, 2019, before being forwarded to the FBI was titled ‘Confidential: Jeffrey Epstein.’ 

The apparent sender, whose name has been redacted, claimed to have ‘been there and seen it all, as a former staff at the Zorro.’

The sender alleged the girls were buried on the orders of Epstein and ‘Madam G’, believed to be Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s close associate, at Zorro Ranch. 

Jeffrey Epstein ordered the burial of two ‘foreign girls’ near his ranch after they were strangled to death during ‘rough, fetish sex’, a person claiming to be a former worker has alleged 

The email, sent on November 21, 2019 to Eddy Aragon, was forward to the FBI

In the email, the person wrote: ‘Edward. This is sensitive, so it will be the first and last email depending on your discretion.’

‘You can choose to take it or trash it but this comes from a person that has been there and seen it all, as a former staff at the Zorro.’

‘The material below was taken from Jeffrey Epstein home as my insurance in case of future litigation against Epstein. SORRY NO QUESTIONS.’

The email added: ‘What is damning about Jeffrey Epstein is yet to be written. Did you know somewhere in the hills outside the Zorro, two foreign girls were buried on orders of Jeffrey and Madam G? Both died by strangulation during rough, fetish sex.’

The sender also included links to videos which claimed to show Epstein having sex with minors, threesomes and sex with underage girls.

The sender then demanded a payment of one Bitcoin in return for the video and information.