Latest / The Epstein Chronicles / The New Mexico Epstein Commission Interim Report (Part 14) (8/12/26)

Transcript

The New Mexico Epstein Commission Interim Report (Part 14) (8/12/26) · The Epstein Chronicles

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What's up, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Epstein Chronicles. In this episode, we're getting right back to
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: the New Mexico interim report on Jeffrey Epstein. Attorney General
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Baldaris deferred sex trafficking investigation to SDNY. Hector Baldaris was
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Attorney General of New Mexico between January first, twenty fifteen
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: and January first, twenty twenty three. On September eighth, twenty nineteen,
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: SDNY emailed the District of New Mexico describing their understanding
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: with the New Mexico Attorney General. We spoke with the
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: New Mexico AG's office back in July twenty nineteen. In essence,
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: they agreed to cease any investigation into sex trafficking and
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: share whatever they had gathered to date regarding sex trafficking
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: activity with our office. We agreed that they were free
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: to proceed with whatever other investigation on related to sex
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: trafficking they may have concerning Epstein, and told them that
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: at the conclusion of our case, we'd pass along any
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: information we may have gathered about state crimes that were
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: committed in their jurisdiction. We have not communicated with anyone
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: from the New Mexico AG's office since that conversation in
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: July of twenty nineteen. References to Alison and Maureen elsewhere
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: in the email chain likely mean assisting US attorneys Alison
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: Moe and Maureen Comy, publicly known to have handled the
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: Epstein case at SDNY. Comy was fired by the Department
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: of Justice in July of twenty twenty five. Deputy Attorney
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: General Clara Moran wrote SDNY on September seventeenth, twenty nineteen,
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: pursuant to our telephone conversation, this office is providing the
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: enclosed material related to the criminal investigation and potential prosecution
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: of Jeffrey Epstein's co conspirators. She described the enclosed material,
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: which included police reports, recorded witness interviews, correspondents amongst New
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: Mexico state agencies, and documents related to Epstein's leasing of
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: New Mexico public lands. Moron further stated that all conduct
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: described in our investigation occurred prior to two thousand and eight,
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: the year New Mexico enacted it's human trafficking statute. She
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: asked the SDN why contact her directly if it learned
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: of any other criminal charges implicating New Mexico law not
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: barred by New Mexico's statute of limitations. Finally, she stated
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: that if further investigations reveal additional survivors of crimes occurring
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: in New Mexico, know that this office intends to work
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: in union with the United States Attorney for the District
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: of New Mexico to ensure that these brave survivors have
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: the opportunity to see the justice is achieved in a
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: court of law. She asked to be contacted if sdnwy's
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: investigation reveals survivors of crimes occurring in New Mexico not
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: mentioned in the provided investigative materials. General Hector Balderis wrote
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: John Anderson on October fifteen, twenty nineteen. He pointed out
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: that his office has been actively investigating and assisting other
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: state and federal agencies with their investigations related to criminality
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: perpetrated in New Mexico by Jeffrey Epstein. He advised that
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: they have been in communication with the Assistant United States
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: Attorney for the Southern District of New York and have
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: provided them with materials supportive of their federal investigation and
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: allegations of misconduct by Epstein's possible co conspirators. He also
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: requested that the U S Attorney's Office explore initiating the
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: process to seaze Epstein's New Mexico landholdings for the eventual
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: benefit of survivors of these acts and the people of
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: the state of New Mexico. In a letter dated July eight,
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: twenty twenty, the USAO and m clara Moron advised that
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: the Attorney General's Office has provided investigative evidence regarding JEFFREYE.
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: Sap Epstein's use of Zoro Ranch to assist federal prosecutors.
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: She went on to a request that any interest belonging
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: to Epstein's estate or co conspirators be seized by federal
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: authorities in the belief that this ranch was used by
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: Epstein and others to facilitate the commission and prolonged concealment
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: of his trafficking of children, such that seizure may be
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: pursued in conjunction with the pending criminal prosecution of Epstein's
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: associates and co conspirators. She concluded her message by offering
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: assistants in the effort. Former Attorney General baldaras Is stated
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: that New Mexico provided SDNY with police reports, recorded witness testimony, correspondence,
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: and documents related to Epstein's land leases, and received nothing
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: in return. He described the arrangement as a one way relationship.
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: Attorney General Torres twenty twenty six investigation of Epstein currently
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: in progress. Roald Torres currently serves as atturn General of
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: New Mexico and has served in that capacity for over
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: three years since January first of twenty twenty three. On
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: February nineteenth, twenty twenty six, Torres formerly reopened the criminal
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: investigation into Zoro Ranch. The NMDJ statement read. Although the
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: State of New Mexico's prior investigation was closed in twenty
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: nineteen at the request of the U. S. Attorney's Office
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: for the Southern District of New York, revelations outlined in
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: the previously sealed FBI files weren't further explanation. On March
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: ninth and tenth, twenty twenty six, NMDJ conducted the first
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: known full property search Azoro Ranch, assisted by New Mexico
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: State Police and Sandoval County K nine teams. FBI agents
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: interviewed ranch manager Bryce Gordon on site in two thousand
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: and seven, but no property search was conducted at that time,
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: to daver dogs and ground penetrating radar were deployed. As
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: of March twenty four, twenty twenty six, no human remains
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: have been found. The current owners, Don and Mary Catherine Huffins,
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: cooperated with the search abuse of state ranching and agriculture leases.
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: The evidence shows that Epstein purchased the land comprising the
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: Zoro Ranch in ninety three from then New Mexico Governor
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: Bruce King. As noted in later years, Epstein made a
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: contribution of Bruce King's son, Gary King, then the sitting
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: New Mexico Attorney General, in support of the latter's campaign
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: for New Mexico governor. Reportedly, this money was later returned.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: Records obtained from New Mexico's State Land Office indicate that
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: part of the Lae property would be used as a
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: landing strip for a private aircraft. Documentation filed with NMSLO
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: has indicated that Maxwell acted as a disinterested person in
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: appraising the Lae property. Email evidence indicates that cattle were
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: present on the property between two thousand and six and
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: two thousand. The evidence shows Epstein made efforts to meet
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: the grazing lease requirements, at least for a part of
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: the time that he held the property. These efforts, however,
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: appear to have been haphazard and sporadic, and the record
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: does not show leasing requirements were met. Subsequent to twenty twelve,
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: Epstein retained Paul Bardaki, a former New Mexico Attorney General,
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: to review his grazing lease. The earliest mention of the
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: cattle on Zoro Ranch and material reviewed thus far by
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: the Commission is in two thousand and five. Specifically, on
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: December twenty eighth, two thousand and five, Zoro Trust entered
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: into an agreement with Eddie L. Burns under which Burns
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: would assume the grazing lease. The agreement provided in part
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: as follows. Owner has delivered to Burns and Burns acknowledges
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: receipt and understanding of the terms of the BLM lease
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: and the two SLO leases, and agrees to comply with
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: the terms of the BLM leases and the sl LOW leases.
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: Owner explicitly denies permission to Burns to use land that
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: is not suitable or appropriate for livestock raising purposes, or
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: land that is in close proximity to any of the
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: existing residences or airscript on the fee simple property owner
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: grants permission to Burns to use the fee simple property
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: for livestock raising purposes. Effectively, upon the execution of the license,
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: Burns is expressly precluded from using the BLM lease property
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: and SLO lease property until Burns has been granted respective
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: subleases by the BLM and SLO. Burns maintained his lease
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: until twenty ten. Cattle became preoccupied in the twenty ten
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: eleven timeframe. An email from con to Epstein dated August
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: twenty seventh, twenty ten, indicates Kahn check the Santa Fe
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: County website and understood as follows. A grazing valuation claims
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: require proof of presence of at least one h had
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: of livestock on a minimum land requirement of eighty acres
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: southern Santa Fe County and fifty three acres Northern Santa
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: Fe County, and proof that the livestock has access to
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: all of the agricultural land for the tax. Here. This
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: may be in the form of a grazing lease, a
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: personal property declaration of livestock that grays on the land,
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: or some other proof of grazing use. Grazing, however, must
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: be the primary use of the land in order to
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: qualify b website did not provide a clear answer of
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: how many acres each livestock exempt, so I called Larry
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: Valdez telephone number redacted from the Agriculture County Assessor's office
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: and left two messages. Con further explained that Epstein's lease
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: with Eddie limits him to fifty headed cattle unless otherwise
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: agreed upon by you and writing, but that the application
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: with New Mexico stated that we will have at least
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: forty nine cattle. Con concluded that there's a small window
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: one cattle for Eddie not to be in violation of
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: his lease. I didn't believe that livestock exempted a max amount,
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: only a minimum. Epstein seemed frustrated, email and con the
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: same day are cattle? I want an answer. Bryce is
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: not my tax advisor. A September third, twenty ten email
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: from Burns informs Epstein that we're removing our cattle from
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: the land held by Zoro Development. Subsequent emails clarify that
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: Burns terminated the lease. An email dated April thirteenth, twenty
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: eleven to Epstein states that cattle are on site and
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: will be branded today until they have settled in. They
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: will remain in the corral unit next Monday. A document
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: dated April eleventh, twenty eleven, reflects the purchase of fifteen
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: heads of cattle for a related expense for ten nine
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: hundred and nineteen dollars and fifty cents. On October fourteenth,
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: twenty eleven, Epstein received two emails from a person whose
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: name has been redacted, who wished to graze cattle on
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: the land to satisfy the lease requirements. The substance of
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: these emails is the same. The second of these emls
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: states as follows, I would like to meet the requirement
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: for the cattle and the land lease. This year, you
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: purchased fifteen young cows and sold them after a certain
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: amount of time. I would purchase the same amount of
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: young cows heifers, but not sell them. They would stay
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: here all year. Then the following spring, I'll purchase a
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: bull and breed them as two year olds. I'll sell
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: off the off spring yearly and keep the original fifteen head.
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: The off spring will eventually pay me back for the
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: initial cost of the cattle and additional costs associated feed shots, etc.
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: It'll take three years to see any cash flow back.
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: I think this plant is simple and meet your requirement
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: for the land lease and allows me an opportunity for
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: me to expand my horizons. No response to these emails
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: was found. The law firm of Sutton, day Are and
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: Brown PC was retained to advise Epstein regarding grazing leases.
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: On February third, twenty twelve, Bryce Gordon emailed Epstein's stating
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: to retain the agricultural exemption, a cattle sublease would be required.
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: The sublease which Zorro had with Eddie Burns was terminated
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: when Eddie left the ranch, but as you know, Steve
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: Chavez is open to taking a sublease. Documentation shows a
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: grazing lease was contemplated. A draft lease was present in
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: the documentation, However, it's not clear an agreement was ultimately concluded.
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: In December TEWOD twenty eleven email exchange between Wendy Martinez
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: and Kahn forwarded to Ebstein, it's mentioned that Chavez previously
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: had been told he could bring his dad's cattle on
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: the ranch next spring. Bank records for the month of
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: April twenty eleven reflect wire transfers for cattle. In September
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: of twenty nineteen, after Epstein's death, State Land Commissioner Stephanie
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: Garcia Richard initiated cancelation of Cyprus Incorporated's grazing leases on
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: one thousand, two hundred and forty three acres of adjacent
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: State Trust land after Zoro Ranch failed to respond to
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: multiple inspection access requests following Epstein's death. The Commission has
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: been unable to locate at this time any documentation showing
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: that inspection access requests were made prior to Epstein's death,
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: though formal cancelation letter cited obstruction of access, misrepresentation, and
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: non agricultural use. It's been claimed that the lease is
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: effectively functioned as a privacy bufferer on the ranch honor.
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: About September fourth, twenty nineteen, New Mexico Attorney General Hector
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: Baldaris issued a statement saying he was pleased Garcia Richard
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: was taking back lands that should be managed to best
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: serve the state and the benefit of New Mexico's school children.
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: In a July twenty fourth, twenty twenty five proffer made
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: as part of Maxwell's post conviction remedies, Maxwell testified about
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: the challenges of maintaining cattle on Zoro Ranch, so the
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: ranch was very challenging because not only that, but it
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: had BLM land. So to help maintain your BLM, you
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: have to have cattle, and I love animals. On February tenth,
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: twenty twenty six, NMSLO Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard wrote to
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: state and federal law enforcement urging investigation of buried allegations,
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: noting that streat trust lands are adjacent to the ranch property.
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: All right, folks, we're going to wrap up right there,
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: and in the next episode dealing with the topic, we're
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: going to pick up where we left off. All the
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: information that goes with this episode can be found in
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: the description box.