New Mexico lawmakers voted Monday to create a first-of-its-kind "truth commission" to investigate what happened at Jeffrey Epstein's sprawling Zorro Ranch near Stanley - a property the FBI never searched despite documented allegations of sexual abuse dating back decades.
Adding a new layer of controversy: the ranch is now owned by a Texas politician running for statewide office.
Don Huffines, 67, a self-described "MAGA Trump Republican" and former Dallas-area state senator currently campaigning for Texas comptroller, is the current owner of the former Zorro Ranch in Santa Fe County, according to records obtained by the Santa Fe New Mexican.
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The sprawling property, featuring a 26,700-square-foot hilltop mansion, was sold for an undisclosed amount in 2023 to San Rafael Ranch LLC, which the New Mexican tied to Huffines and his family through public records requests. The property's address was later changed from 49 Zorro Ranch Road to 49 Rancho San Rafael Road in 2024.
Huffines released a statement on X:
Huffines' campaign spokesperson Allen Blakemore said the family purchased the property at a public auction "whose proceeds benefited his victims" and that they had never visited the property prior to the auction listing. In a follow-up statement, Blakemore said the family had not been approached by any authorities to search the property but would cooperate if asked.
However, Epstein's estate attorney said in 2023 that proceeds from the sale went to cover administrative costs and creditors - not victims.
The bipartisan truth commission, established by legislation passed February 16 in Santa Fe, will seek testimony from survivors of alleged abuse at the ranch, located about 30 miles south of the state capital. The commission aims to identify ranch guests and state officials who may have known what was happening at the 7,600-acre property - or taken part in alleged sexual abuse in its hacienda-style mansion and guest houses.
Central to the investigation is a glaring absence of federal action. State lawmakers say there is no record of federal law enforcement ever searching the property, where Epstein is accused of sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl as early as 1996. When asked to explain, the U.S. Department of Justice passed a request for comment to the FBI — which declined to respond.
The commission also comes amid unverified allegations surfacing in recently released Epstein documents. New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard wrote to state and federal law enforcement on February 10, urging them to investigate an anonymous 2019 email claiming two girls may be buried at or near the ranch. The state attorney general's office said it needs additional information to evaluate those claims.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez has assigned a special agent to probe allegations brought through the truth commission. Epstein was never criminally charged for any alleged offenses in New Mexico. He died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting federal sex trafficking charges, in a death ruled a suicide.