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TO THE DESERT. SHE ALWAYS SAYS, "I JUST HOPE, I JUST HOPE THAT WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE THAT I MADE A SMALL DENT IN THIS BIG WORLD." THE LAWS THAT ALLOWED IT TO HAPPEN. THIS CASE IS A HORRIFIC BLACK EYE ON NEW MEXICO. THE POLITICAL CONNECTIONS. IT MIGHT BE SAID THAT, YOU KNOW, NEW MEXICO CHOSE HIM. AND WHAT SECRETS REMAIN? DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE BODIES BURIED OUT THERE ON ZORRO RANCH PROPERTY?
WELCOME. I’M DOUG FERNANDEZ AND I’M SHELLY RIBANDO. THIS IS THE TARGET 7 SPECIAL INVESTIGATION SECRETS OF ZORRO RANCH.
IT WAS THREE DECADES AGO WHEN FINANCIER JEFFREY EPSTEIN PURCHASED LAND AND BUILT A MANSION IN RURAL SANTA FE COUNTY. AS TIME WENT ON, THE ZORRO RANCH ESTATE WOULD BECOME A DESTINATION FOR CELEBRITIES, POLITICAL HEAVYWEIGHTS AND ROYALTY. BUT IT WAS ALSO WHERE TEENAGE GIRLS WERE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED. OVER THE PAST YEAR, MORE THAN A MILLION DOCUMENTS ABOUT EPSTEIN HAVE BEEN MADE PUBLIC IN NEW MEXICO APPEARS IN THOUSANDS OF THEM. SO WHY DID EPSTEIN COME TO NEW MEXICO? WHY WAS AN INVESTIGATION NEVER COMPLETED INTO ZORRO RANCH? HERE’S JASON MCNABB.
ON A BRIGHT SUNDAY MORNING IN STANLEY, NEW MEXICO. THE SOUNDS OF NATIVE AMERICAN DRUMS ECHO. BUT IN THIS SKY EXISTS DARKNESS. HUNDREDS HAVE GATHERED OUTSIDE OF ZORRO RANCH. IT IS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY. "WE FACE A LOT OF CHALLENGES. WE FACE A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY. WE FACE A LOT OF VIOLENCE." SECURITY CAMERAS, WATCHING EVERY DIRECTION, NO TRESPASSING SIGNS AND ARMED GUARDS, A GOOD ENERGY. THAT POWER WILL ALWAYS SUPERSEDE THE BAD, AND A TRUCK BEARING THEIR MESSAGE. AND THEN THE BROTHERS OF VIRGINIA GIUFFRE TAKE THE STAGE. "STANDING HERE AT ZORRO RANCH, A PLACE REPRESENTS SUCH TRAUMA AND NIGHTMARES FOR MY SISTER AND SO MANY OTHER SURVIVORS IS HARDER THAN I EVER IMAGINED."
NEW MEXICO IS KNOWN AS THE LAND OF ENCHANTMENT. VIRGINIA SPOKE ABOUT THAT BEAUTY OFTEN, BUT RIGHT HERE, HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT. JEFFREY EPSTEIN AND GHISLAINE MAXWELL BUILT SOMETHING VERY DIFFERENT. A HOUSE OF HORRORS. FOR YEARS, VIRGINIA GIUFFRE AND SO MANY OTHER WOMEN HELD WITH THEM SECRETS OF THIS RANCH. BEFORE HER SUICIDE, GIUFFRE HAD ALLEGED SHE WAS ABUSED IN THIS MANSION AND WAS FORCED TO GIVE. THEN NEW MEXICO GOVERNOR BILL RICHARDSON MASSAGES. "WHEN EVERYBODY SAID THEY DIDN’T BELIEVE HER, SHE SAID, WELL, WATCH ME, WATCH ME SHOW YOU WHY I’M TELLING THE TRUTH." AND EVERY TIME WE SEE MORE AND MORE FILES COME OUT, IT’S MORE AND MORE EVIDENT THAT THE SURVIVORS ARE TELLING THE TRUTH. THE GROUP MADE THE TRIP WITH THE PURPOSE. THEY WANT MORE DOCUMENTS RELEASED, THE MANSION SEARCHED, PEOPLE IDENTIFIED AND PROSECUTED. "SHE ALWAYS SAYS, I JUST HOPE. I JUST HOPE THAT WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE THAT I MADE A SMALL DENT IN THIS BIG WORLD." AND IT MEANS THE WORLD TO US TO COME OUT AND SEE EVERYBODY HERE.
THE PROPERTY IS NO LONGER CALLED ZORRO RANCH, THE NAME SYNONYMOUS WITH JEFFREY EPSTEIN, A FINANCIER WHO HAD ESTATES HERE IN NEW MEXICO, NEW YORK, FLORIDA AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS. ITS NEW NAME, SAN RAFAEL RANCH, IS VISIBLE ON THOSE NO TRESPASSING SIGNS. THE VERY NEXT DAY, THE GROUP GOT WHAT THEY WANTED FROM SKY 7. WE WATCHED AS INVESTIGATORS SEARCHED THE PROPERTY. YOU CAN SEE ALL THE UNITS FROM THE NEW MEXICO ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE SURROUNDING THE MANSION DOWN THERE. IN A STATEMENT, THEY SAY IT’S RELATED TO POSSIBLE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY THAT OCCURRED AT THE RANCH WHEN EPSTEIN OWNED IT. ONE DOCUMENT IN THE RECENTLY RELEASED EPSTEIN FILES CLAIMS THERE WERE BODIES BURIED ON THE PROPERTY. "WE’RE GOING TO EXPOSE THEM. WE WILL NOT LET THEM BURY THE TRUTH." THE GROUP LEFT FLOWERS PLANTED AND LAID ON THE DIRT, CROSSES NAILED INTO THE GROUND. "IT’S HARD FOR THEM JUST SEEING THE HOUSE IS PAINFUL, BUT IT’S IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE’RE NOT FORGETTING."
THERE IS SO MUCH MORE COMING TO LIGHT THE FIRST TIME. MILLIONS OF FILES ALREADY RELEASED AS PART OF THE EPSTEIN TRANSPARENCY ACT. SECRETS BEING REVEALED, MORE STILL HIDDEN. WHAT YOU’RE ABOUT TO HEAR MAY BE DISTURBING TO SOME. IN ONE ACCOUNT, ANOTHER SURVIVOR SAYS EPSTEIN FONDLED HER GENITALS ON THE RANCH WHEN SHE WAS ONLY 17. SHE ALSO SAID HE SNUCK INTO THE ROOM SHE WAS STAYING IN AND RAPED HER TWICE. IN ANOTHER ACCOUNT, EPSTEIN ALLEGEDLY MASTURBATED AND GROPED A GIRL WHILE SHE WAS GIVING HIM A MASSAGE. THE SURVIVOR ALSO JUST 17 WHEN THE ABUSE ALLEGEDLY OCCURRED. THE GROUP OUTSIDE THE GATES, NOW JOINING THE CHORUS OF VOICES DEMANDING JUSTICE. "OF MANY A GIRL. WE SEE YOU, WE BELIEVE YOU AND WE WILL NOT STOP FIGHTING UNTIL JUSTICE IS SERVED."
IT’S NOW KNOWN THAT JEFFREY EPSTEIN HAD TIES WITH VERY POWERFUL PEOPLE AROUND THE GLOBE, INCLUDING MOVIE STARS, POLITICIANS, EVEN ROYALTY. BUT HOW DEEP DID HIS CONNECTIONS GO HERE IN NEW MEXICO? AND JUST WHO KNEW WHAT WAS HAPPENING RIGHT HERE IN OUR BACKYARD? SOMETHING OUR LEGISLATORS NOW WANT ANSWERS TO? "WE DO HAVE CORRUPT POLITICIANS AND WE DO HAVE CORRUPT PEOPLE IN GOVERNMENT. AND MAYBE THERE WERE STRINGS PULLED." OUR INVESTIGATION FOUND THAT NEW MEXICO’S LAWS WERE PERFECT FOR EPSTEIN. WE DID NOT HAVE A HUMAN TRAFFICKING LAW. STATE LAW AT THE TIME MADE IT DIFFICULT FOR VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT TO REPORT THEIR ABUSE, AND HE DID NOT HAVE TO REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER. WE ALSO FOUND THAT INVESTIGATION INTO WHAT OCCURRED HERE AT ZORRO RANCH STARTED AFTER EPSTEIN WAS ARRESTED IN 2019 IN NEW YORK, BUT WAS NEVER COMPLETED. WE ALSO FOUND THAT EPSTEIN HAD PLENTY OF CONNECTIONS TO THE MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE IN OUR STATE. "I THINK NEW MEXICO CHOSE JEFFREY EPSTEIN. THE LAND OFFICE DID NOT DIG DEEP ENOUGH, DID NOT ASK ENOUGH QUESTIONS, AND DID NOT HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT WAS OCCURRING ON OUR LAND. HAD THEY BEEN ABLE TO HAVE A CRYSTAL BALL AND SEE WHAT KINDS OF THINGS JEFFREY EPSTEIN BECAME INVOLVED IN, THAT THEY WOULD HAVE NEVER SOLD ON THE PROPERTY."
WHY JEFFREY EPSTEIN CHOSE NEW MEXICO FOR HIS MANSION IS UNCLEAR. WAS IT THE SCENERY, THE SECLUSION, OR DID POLITICAL CONNECTIONS HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT? HERE AGAIN IS JASON MCNABB. ANYTHING?
WHEN THE ZORRO RANCH LAND WAS BOUGHT IN THE 1990S, IT WAS FRONT PAGE NEWS. THE ALBUQUERQUE TRIBUNE CALLED IT THE BIG HOUSE AND REPORTED THAT A, QUOTE, "MYSTERIOUS STRANGER HAS COME TO STANLEY WITH PLANS TO BUILD THE LARGEST HOME IN NEW MEXICO." THAT STRANGER WAS JEFFREY EPSTEIN. "WHY DID I BUY A RANCH IN NEW MEXICO IN 1993? SO THAT GIVES YOU SOME SENSE. SO I WOULD HAVE FUNDED IT IN 1990." LOS ALAMOS, WHICH WAS THE HIGH ENERGY LAB UP IN NEW MEXICO, WAS LOSING ALL ITS SCIENTISTS. IN THIS 2019 INTERVIEW, INCLUDED IN THE DOJ FILES, EPSTEIN SAID HE WAS INTERESTED IN INVESTING IN NEW IDEAS. "THEY CUT THE FUNDING FOR HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS. BUT THE PEOPLE WHO WORKED IN LOS ALAMOS WOULD STILL BE IN THE SANTA FE AREA. AND CAN CAN YOU FUND PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEW IDEAS?"
WHEN THE TRIBUNE DID THIS STORY IN 1995, THEY INTERVIEWED EPSTEIN. HE SAID HE WAS, QUOTE, "SECURITY CONSCIOUS" AND DESCRIBED HIMSELF AS A HERMIT AND AS BEING AFRAID. AT THE TIME. HE EMPLOYED TWO FULL TIME PEOPLE TO MANAGE THE RANCH AND MADE THEM ALL SIGN CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS. THE EMPLOYEES TOLD THE TRIBUNE THEY WERE, QUOTE, "SWORN TO SECRECY." BUT PEOPLE HERE IN NEW MEXICO SAY THEY HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS GOING ON. "HE WAS FROM NEW YORK, IS WHAT WE KNEW."
GARY KING IS FROM ONE OF THE LAST OF THE GREAT POLITICAL DYNASTIES IN NEW MEXICO. HIS DAD WAS GOVERNOR KING, HIMSELF A FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL, FORMER STATE REP, AND WAS THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE FOR GOVERNOR IN 2014. HIS FAMILY SOLD EPSTEIN THE LAND WHEN HIS FATHER WAS IN OFFICE. IT WAS OWNED BY HIS FATHER AND TWO UNCLES. "SO I AM GUESSING THAT JEFFREY EPSTEIN OR SOMEBODY THAT HE WORKED FOR, WAS LOOKING IN NEW MEXICO AND SAW THAT LAND LISTED, AND THAT THEY REACHED OUT TO THE KING BROTHERS TO BUY THAT LAND."
WHEN EPSTEIN PURCHASED THE LAND, IT INCLUDED STATE OWNED PROPERTY. THE PROPERTY WAS LEASED BY THE KING FAMILY FOR GRAZING LIVESTOCK. STATE OFFICIALS NOW SAY. WHEN EPSTEIN PURCHASED THE KING PROPERTY, HE ASSUMED THE LEASES FOR THE STATE OWNED GRAZING LAND, BUT IT DOESN’T APPEAR HE USED IT FOR ANY AGRICULTURAL PURPOSE. "IT WAS BY NO MEANS A BONA FIDE GRAZING OPERATION." STEPHANIE GARCIA RICHARD IS THE STATE’S LAND COMMISSIONER. SHE SAYS HER OFFICE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING SURE PEOPLE USE STATE OWNED LAND FOR ITS DESIGNATED PURPOSE. "THERE HAVE BEEN CASES WHERE GRAZING LEASES HAVE BEEN MISUSED. THEY ARE NOT USED FOR THEIR INTENDED PURPOSE. I BELIEVE THAT THE GRAZING LEASE AT ZORRO RANCH WAS JUST ONE OF THESE CASES."
ONCE BUILT, THIS IS WHAT THE RANCH LOOKED LIKE. SPRAWLING GARDENS IN THE NEW MEXICO DESERT, AN AIRPLANE LANDING STRIP, CORRALS AND STABLES FOR LIVESTOCK AND HOMES FOR RANCH WORKERS. IT ALSO HAD A SHOOTING RANGE, AND THIS ANTIQUE TRAIN CAR. INSIDE THERE WAS A SWIMMING POOL, LARGE GARAGE AND ELABORATE OFFICE. THESE ARE THE BLUEPRINTS. SOME OF THESE ARE PHOTOS FROM THE INSIDE THAT WERE PROVIDED TO THIS MAN. YOU COULD SEE THAT IT WASN’T A NORMAL RESIDENCE. 33,333FT. YOU WOULD EXPECT 15-20 BEDROOMS, YOU KNOW, A PALACE. AND IT WASN’T THE LAYOUT OF THAT PLACE. WASN’T THAT AT ALL.
EDDIE ARAGON IS A RADIO TALK SHOW HOST. "EPSTEIN RANCH." HE STARTED TALKING ABOUT EPSTEIN NEARLY DAILY ON HIS SHOW SHORTLY AFTER THE BILLIONAIRE WAS ARRESTED IN 2019. "I HAD BEEN INTERESTED IN THE JEFFREY EPSTEIN’S ZORRO RANCH STUFF WAY BEFORE BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE HAD CALLED IN, HAD SORT OF CITIZEN INFORMANTS, CITIZEN JOURNALISTS WHO HAD BEEN FEEDING ME INFORMATION." TODAY, ARAGON BELIEVES THE INFORMANTS WERE ACTUALLY PEOPLE WHO WORKED AT THE RANCH. THEY SUPPLIED HIM VIDEOS, PHOTOS AND PICTURES OF THE INSIDE. "I THINK IT’S SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE DISSEMINATED EVERYWHERE SO THAT PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY GET A BACKGROUND OF WHAT WAS TAKING PLACE IN TERMS OF SORT OF THE CELEBRATIONS."
ONCE EPSTEIN’S CRIMES WERE EXPOSED. GARCIA RICHARD TOOK ACTION. IT WAS 2019 WHEN SHE WENT TO THE PROPERTY TO DO AN INSPECTION, AND SHE WAS NOT ALLOWED ON IT. IT WAS AT THAT TIME A LARGE GATE IN FRONT OF THE PRIVATE RESIDENCE WITH LIKE A LITTLE SPEAKER BOX. AND SO I LET THEM KNOW WHO I WAS. AND KIND OF AT FIRST WE GOT A LITTLE BIT OF A RESPONSE AS THOUGH WE WERE GOING TO BE GRANTED ENTRANCE. AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN, KIND OF IN THE DISTANCE, WE SEE A TRUCK JUST DRIVE OFF VERY RAPIDLY, AND THE SPEAKER BOX WENT DEAD. WE DIDN’T HEAR FROM ANYONE. WE KEPT SORT OF TRYING TO GET SOMEONE’S ATTENTION. SO I WAS NOT ACTUALLY ADMITTED ONTO ZORRO RANCH. FOLLOWING DAY, SHE HELD A NEWS CONFERENCE ANNOUNCING SHE WAS CANCELING THE LEASES. SHE HAS THESE SOUVENIRS IN HER OFFICE. "DID YOU LEAVE THE TOWN IN 2019? IN 2019? THIS HAS BEEN SITTING HERE THIS WHOLE TIME. SO WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO END THE LEASE AGREEMENT IN THE FIRST PLACE? FROM THE MOMENT THAT WE DISCOVERED THAT WE HAD THAT LEASE, WE DID NOT WANT IT TO CONTINUE IN ANY MEANS."
GARCIA RICHARD IS NOW WANTING MORE ACTION AFTER LEARNING ABOUT THIS EMAIL THAT WAS SENT TO ARAGON BACK IN 2019. IT LOOKED VERY LEGITIMATE. AND AS YOU CAN SEE NOW, EVERYONE FEELS IT’S VERY LEGITIMATE. THE EMAIL SAYS, QUOTE, "DID YOU KNOW SOMEWHERE IN THE HILLS OUTSIDE OF ZORRO RANCH, TWO FOREIGN GIRLS WERE BURIED ON ORDERS OF JEFFREY AND MADAME G. BOTH DIED BY STRANGULATION DURING ROUGH FETISH SEX." IT ALSO WANTED ARAGON TO GIVE THE SENDER ONE BITCOIN FOR VIDEOS. "I IMMEDIATELY SENT IT OVER TO THE FBI. THERE WAS NO RESPONSE TO THE FBI FROM THE FBI." ARAGON SAYS HE DOESN’T BELIEVE ANYONE EVER LOOKED INTO THE EMAIL. "TO THINK THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES WOULDN’T HAVE DONE ANYTHING ABOUT IT IS REALLY THE DISTURBING PART THAT SHOULD DISTURB EVERYBODY." BUT JUST LAST MONTH, THE EMAIL CAME TO LIGHT AGAIN WHEN IT WAS PART OF THE MILLIONS OF DOCUMENTS RELEASED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AS PART OF THE EPSTEIN TRANSPARENCY ACT. BECAUSE OF THAT EMAIL, GARCIA RICHARD ASKED ATTORNEY GENERAL RAUL TORRES TO INVESTIGATE. EARLIER THIS MONTH, TORRES CONDUCTED A SEARCH OF THE PROPERTY WITH THE NEW OWNER’S PERMISSION. "DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE BODIES BURIED OUT THERE ON ZORRO RANCH PROPERTY?" "I ACTUALLY DON’T WANT TO LET MYSELF BELIEVE WHAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE FOUND ON THE LAND, BUT I DO THINK THAT THERE ARE LOCAL FOLKS THAT HAVE KNOWLEDGE THAT WE HAVE JUST NOT FOLLOWED UP WITH. WE HAVE NOT TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF." TORRES’S OFFICE, LAUNCHED AN INVESTIGATION. "I HOPE THAT NEW MEXICANS CAN FINALLY HAVE ANSWERS FOR WHAT OCCURRED ON THEIR PUBLIC LAND. I HOPE THAT FAMILIES OF VICTIMS AND SURVIVORS FINALLY GET ANSWERS. I HOPE THAT THEIR STORIES ARE VINDICATED."
"I THINK NEW MEXICO CHOSE JEFFREY EPSTEIN. HE WAS IN THE POCKETS OF OF GOVERNORS, LARGE LANDOWNERS, FORMER GOVERNORS. I MEAN, IT GOES BROAD AND DEEP. I MEAN, THE KING FAMILY. HOLY COW." LIKE SO MANY OTHERS, GARY KING’S CAMPAIGNS AND HIS FATHER’S RECEIVED MONEY FROM EPSTEIN. "I THINK EARLY ON IN CAMPAIGNS, WE KNEW THAT HE WAS A BUSINESSMAN AND SOLICITED CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS FROM HIM. WHEN YOU’RE CAMPAIGNING, YOU YOU PRETTY MUCH REACH OUT TO EVERYBODY YOU KNOW AND ASK THEM TO GIVE MONEY TO YOUR CAMPAIGN." IT WASN’T UNTIL 2014 WHEN THOSE CONTRIBUTIONS BECAME CONTROVERSIAL. GARY KING UNSUCCESSFULLY RAN FOR GOVERNOR, TRYING TO FOLLOW IN HIS FATHER’S FOOTSTEPS. KING SAYS, UNBEKNOWNST TO HIM, COMPANIES OWNED BY EPSTEIN DONATED MONEY. AT THE TIME, EPSTEIN WAS FIVE YEARS REMOVED FROM BEING CONVICTED OF SOLICITING A TEENAGE PROSTITUTE IN FLORIDA. KING SAID, ACCEPTING THE DONATIONS FROM COMPANIES OWNED BY EPSTEIN WAS AN OVERSIGHT BY HIS STAFF AND ANNOUNCED HE WOULD GIVE THE MONEY BACK. "I HAD A CONVERSATION WITH MR. EPSTEIN AND HE SAID THAT HE WANTED TO CONTRIBUTE TO MY CAMPAIGN, AND I TOLD HIM THAT I WOULDN’T ACCEPT A CONTRIBUTION FROM HIM. ACTUALLY, I THINK I EVEN SAID, WOULDN’T IT BE GOOD FOR ME? WOULDN’T IT BE GOOD FOR YOU?"
DOCUMENTS RELEASED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE SHOW GARY KING AND HIS RUNNING MATE, DEB HAALAND, TOOK A TRIP ON THIS PLANE FROM SANTA FE TO WASHINGTON, D.C. TO MEET WITH UNION LEADERS. THE FLIGHT HAPPENED THE SAME DAY HE RETURNED THE MONEY. THE PLANE WAS BOOKED BY AN EPSTEIN OWNED COMPANY. KING HAS MAINTAINED THAT HE WAS UNAWARE THE PLANE WAS ARRANGED BY EPSTEIN. "I FOUND OUT ACTUALLY ONLY AFTER THE RELEASE OF ALL THESE EPSTEIN DOCUMENTS." HOWEVER, THESE EMAILS SEEM TO SHOW OTHERWISE. SOMEONE SENT EPSTEIN AN EMAIL INDICATING THAT GARY KING WANTED TO SPEAK WITH HIM ABOUT POSSIBLY USING HIS PLANE TO GET FROM SANTA FE TO D.C., AND EPSTEIN ALSO RECEIVED AN EMAIL ALERTING HIM THAT KING WAS ON THE FLIGHT. BUT KING QUESTIONS THE VALIDITY OF THE EMAILS. "AND I DON’T KNOW HOW CREDIBLE IT IS. I DON’T KNOW WHO WROTE IT." "YOU THINK IT WAS FABRICATED?" "I DON’T KNOW THAT IT’S FABRICATED LIKE FABRICATED AFTER THE FACT. I JUST THINK THAT WHOEVER WROTE THAT EMAIL MIGHT NOT HAVE HAVE UNDERSTOOD WHAT I UNDERSTOOD, WHICH WAS THAT OUR CAMPAIGN WAS GOING TO CHARTER THAT AIRPLANE AND THAT WE PAID FOR IT."
DOCUMENTS ALSO SHOW THAT KING WAS IN COMMUNICATION WITH EPSTEIN LEADING UP TO THE FLIGHT. IN THIS EMAIL TO EPSTEIN FROM HIS PERSONAL ASSISTANT MONTHS EARLIER, SHE WROTE, "PLEASE CALL GARY KING. HE LOOKS VERY FORWARD TO SPEAKING WITH YOU." THIS ONE SAYS, QUOTE, "GARY KING JUST CALLED, APOLOGIZED FOR NOT RETURNING YOUR CALL SOONER." KING IS MAINTAINED. HE BARELY KNEW EPSTEIN. "HOW MANY TIMES DO YOU ACTUALLY REMEMBER MEETING EPSTEIN IN PERSON?" "THAT’S SIMPLE. I MET HIM ONCE IN PERSON." BUT KING ACKNOWLEDGED SHORTLY AFTER HIS FATHER DIED IN 2009, HE GOT A PHONE CALL FROM EPSTEIN. HE WAS ATTORNEY GENERAL AT THE TIME. HE CALLED AND SAID THAT HE HAD HEARD ABOUT MY FATHER’S DEATH AND THAT HE WANTED TO EXPRESS HIS CONDOLENCES, AND HE WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF WE COULD MEET IN PERSON AND HAVE COFFEE. SO WE ACTUALLY ENDED UP HAVING A TEA BECAUSE WE WENT TO JINJA AND HAD TEA.
EPSTEIN WAS JUST MONTHS REMOVED FROM SERVING TIME FOR A SEX OFFENDER CONVICTION IN FLORIDA. A FEW MONTHS AFTER THAT MEETING, THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, WHICH REPORTS TO THE GOVERNOR, SENT EPSTEIN THIS LETTER INFORMING HIM HE WOULD BE REQUIRED TO REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER IN NEW MEXICO. BILL RICHARDSON WAS THE GOVERNOR AT THE TIME, BUT AFTER AN EMAIL FROM HIS ATTORNEY, DPS CHANGED THEIR TUNE, SENDING THIS LETTER TELLING HIM HE WOULDN’T HAVE TO REGISTER. AFTER ALL, EPSTEIN HAD BEEN CONVICTED OF SOLICITING A PROSTITUTE AND PROCURING A MINOR FOR PROSTITUTION IN FLORIDA. HE SERVED 13 MONTHS ON WORK RELEASE. "DO YOU BELIEVE HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN FORCED TO REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER IN NEW MEXICO?" "SAY IT DEPENDS ON THE ACT. I RECOGNIZE THAT HE HE PLED GUILTY TO. ONE OF THEM WAS TO SOLICITING A PROSTITUTE. SO THAT WOULDN’T BE SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD THAT YOU WOULD HAVE TO REGISTER FOR THE OTHER CHARGE THAT HE PLED TO. I DON’T KNOW."
KING AND HIS FAMILY ARE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING HOW EPSTEIN ENDED UP HERE IN NEW MEXICO. HIS FAMILY SOLD HIM THE LAND. BRUCE KING WAS GOVERNOR WHEN HE BOUGHT IT. BUT THE KING FAMILY AREN’T THE ONLY POWERFUL NEW MEXICANS WHO HAD CONNECTIONS TO EPSTEIN. COURT DOCUMENTS SHOW. THE LATE GOVERNOR BILL RICHARDSON HAD ARRANGED NINE MEETINGS WITH EPSTEIN OVER THE YEARS, INCLUDING SOME AT ZORRO RANCH. RICHARDSON WAS ACCUSED BY EPSTEIN SURVIVOR VIRGINIA GIUFFRE OF BEING FORCED TO GIVE HIM A MASSAGE. RICHARDSON, WHO DIED IN 2023, HAD MAINTAINED THOSE ACCUSATIONS WERE FALSE. RICHARDSON HAD RECEIVED $50,000 IN CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS FROM EPSTEIN THAT HE ULTIMATELY GAVE TO CHARITY. FORMER STATE LAND COMMISSIONER AND ALBUQUERQUE MAYOR JIM BACA RECEIVED $10,000 IN CONTRIBUTIONS FROM EPSTEIN. HE SAID RICHARDSON HAD TRIED TO ARRANGE A MEETING WITH HIM, BUT DECLINED TO DO SO. HE LATER RECEIVED THE CHECK. HE, TOO, RETURNED THE MONEY AFTER EPSTEIN HAD BEEN CHARGED IN FLORIDA IN 2006. HE TELLS TARGET 7 HE GAVE IT TO A BATTERED WOMEN’S SHELTER. BACA WAS ALSO. THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR FOR A BRIEF TIME UNDER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON. BACA WAS ALSO THE LAND COMMISSIONER WHEN EPSTEIN BOUGHT THE RANCH. HOWEVER, HE TELLS US HE WAS ON A LEAVE OF ABSENCE, SERVING IN HIS FEDERAL POSITION WHEN THE TRANSACTION WAS MADE. HE SAID THAT AS A MATTER OF PRACTICE, THE COMMISSIONER’S NAME IS ON ALL THE STATE LEASES, BUT HE NEVER KNEW OR MET EPSTEIN. FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY IN NEW MEXICO. CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE JOHN KELLY’S NAME APPEARED IN EPSTEIN’S BLACK BOOK AT THE TIME THAT REVELATION WAS MADE PUBLIC. KELLY WAS A CHAIRMAN OF ALBUQUERQUE’S ETHICS BOARD. HE TOLD TARGET 7 HE MET EPSTEIN ONLY ONCE AT THE INVITATION OF THE KING FAMILY. WHEN EPSTEIN WAS LOOKING TO BUY THE PROPERTY. BUT DOCUMENTS RELEASED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE SHOW THAT HE REPRESENTED EPSTEIN WHEN HE BOUGHT THE RANCH.
THOUGH EPSTEIN’S 2008 FLORIDA CONVICTIONS DID REACH NEW MEXICO, LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES AT THE TIME, IT WASN’T UNTIL EPSTEIN WAS CHARGED AGAIN IN 2019. HIS ACTIONS IN NEW MEXICO WERE CALLED INTO QUESTION. IT PROMPTED AN INVESTIGATION HERE IN THE LAND OF ENCHANTMENT THAT WAS ULTIMATELY HALTED. "WHEN WE RETURNED, THEY ASKED US TO PAUSE AND STAND DOWN." "I WOULDN’T SAY THE LAND OFFICE WAS AN ACCOMPLICE. I WOULD SAY THE LAND OFFICE DID NOT DIG DEEP ENOUGH, DID NOT ASK ENOUGH QUESTIONS." BETTER LATE THAN NEVER.
SHORTLY AFTER JEFFREY EPSTEIN WAS CHARGED FOR THE SECOND TIME, SURVIVORS CALLED TO NEW MEXICO ATTORNEY GENERAL. BUT AN INVESTIGATION INTO WHAT OCCURRED AT ZORRO RANCH WAS QUICKLY HALTED. HERE AGAIN IS JASON MCNABB.
THE HOUSE IS SET TO VOTE ON THE RELEASE OF FEDERAL FILES RELATED TO JEFFREY EPSTEIN. THE DOJ RELEASING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF FILES. KOAT IS ACTIVELY LOOKING THROUGH THE FILES RELEASED BY THE DOJ. IN NOVEMBER, CONGRESS PASSED THE EPSTEIN FILES TRANSPARENCY ACT. IT FOLLOWED MONTHS OF CALLS FROM SURVIVORS AND POLITICIANS FOR THE MILLIONS OF DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE DOJ’S INVESTIGATION OF JEFFREY EPSTEIN TO BE RELEASED. NEW MEXICO ACTUALLY STARTED ITS OWN INVESTIGATION INTO HIM. "COULD YOU BREAK DOWN THE TIMELINE OF THE INITIAL INVESTIGATION?" "FOR US, WE WERE NOT ONLY CONDUCTING FORENSIC INVESTIGATIONS, BUT WE WERE MAKING CONTACT." HECTOR BALDERAS WAS NEW MEXICO’S ATTORNEY GENERAL IN 2019. HIS OFFICE WAS LEADING THE CHARGE. "WE DEFINITELY VERIFIED THAT SOME OF THE CONCERNS WERE WERE VALID, AND WE FELT THAT THERE WAS ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO BUILD A CRIMINAL SCOPE AND MOVE FORWARD WITH THE INVESTIGATION." DIDN’T LAST LONG. JUST ABOUT IN THE FIRST PHASE OF OUR INVESTIGATION, WE WERE CONTACTED BY THE DOJ IN NEW YORK. WE HAD CONFIRMED, AND THEY HAD CONFIRMED WITH US THAT WE WERE POTENTIALLY INTERVIEWING THE SAME VICTIMS, AND THEY WERE CONCERNED THAT IF WE HAD DIFFERING STATEMENTS AMONG VICTIMS, THE CASE COULD BE COMPROMISED. BALDERAS SAID. THE U.S. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ASKED THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO TO HALT ITS INVESTIGATION. "THEY ASKED US TO PAUSE AND STAND DOWN." SO BALDERAS OFFICE HANDED OVER ALL THE EVIDENCE THEY HAD GATHERED TO THE DOJ. CHIEF DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL AT THE TIME, CLARA MORAN, WHO IS NOW A DISTRICT COURT JUDGE, WROTE THIS EMAIL TO THE DOJ. THE AG’S OFFICE WAS WANTING THE FEDS TO SHARE EVIDENCE. IT WAS OVER A MONTH AFTER EPSTEIN’S JAIL CELL SUICIDE. SHE SAID, QUOTE, "EPSTEIN’S DEATH SHOULD NOT BE THE END OF THIS CRIMINAL INQUIRY." IN ANOTHER LETTER SENT ALMOST A YEAR LATER, MORAN ASKED THE DOJ TO SEIZE ALL OF EPSTEIN’S NEW MEXICO PROPERTIES, INCLUDING ZORRO RANCH. THAT NEVER HAPPENED, NOR DID THE DOJ EVER GET BACK TO THE A.G. FOR HIS REQUEST TO SHARE EVIDENCE. BALDERAS SAYS THAT HAMPERED HIS ABILITY TO SECURE INDICTMENTS FOR CRIMES COMMITTED IN NEW MEXICO. "IT WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH EASIER TO TAKE THAT PROPERTY THE WAY THEY TAKE PROPERTY FROM A TAX EVADER. IT’S STILL STRANGE AND WORTHY OF CRITICISM THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE PROBABLY SEIZED THAT RANCH IN 2019. JUST FLAT OUT." "WAS THE PROPERTY EVER SEARCHED?" "WE WERE NEVER INFORMED BY THE FEDERAL AUTHORITIES THAT THEY EXECUTED A SEARCH WARRANT." BALDERAS ADDS. UNDER HIM, STATE INVESTIGATORS NEVER SEARCHED THE PROPERTY.
"THIS CASE IS A HORRIFIC BLACK EYE IN NEW MEXICO. NEW MEXICO HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN A DUMPING GROUND. I THINK THERE’S AREAS OF RISK THAT NEW MEXICO HAS HISTORICALLY DONE A HORRIBLE JOB AT ADDRESSING." HE THINKS EPSTEIN WAS AWARE OF THE STATE’S PRIOR SHORTCOMINGS. HE CALLS THEM BLACK HOLES. "NOW, HECTOR, DO YOU THINK THAT JEFFREY EPSTEIN KNEW ABOUT NEW MEXICO’S BLACK HOLES?" "ABSOLUTELY. IT WAS VERY SOPHISTICATED." THOSE BLACK HOLES. NEW MEXICO STATE LAWS AT THE TIME. WE SHOWED YOU EARLIER HOW JEFFREY EPSTEIN WASN’T FORCED TO REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER HERE, EVEN THOUGH HE’D BEEN CONVICTED OF SEX CRIMES IN FLORIDA IN 2008. AT THE TIME, NEW MEXICO LAW DIDN’T REQUIRE SOMEONE WHO WAS ALREADY REGISTERED AS A SEX OFFENDER IN ANOTHER STATE TO HAVE TO REGISTER HERE. THAT, TOO, HAS SINCE BEEN CHANGED. A LAW FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING, SOMETHING EPSTEIN WAS CHARGED WITH IN NEW YORK RIGHT BEFORE HE DIED, WASN’T PASSED TO NEW MEXICO UNTIL 2008. AT THE TIME, IN THE 90S, NEW MEXICO DIDN’T HAVE A HUMAN TRAFFICKING LAW. "DO YOU THINK JEFFREY EPSTEIN WAS AWARE OF THAT AND DECIDED TO MOVE TO NEW MEXICO BECAUSE OF IT?" "IT’S HARD TO SPECULATE, BUT CITIZENS SHOULD KNOW. PASSING A HUMAN TRAFFICKING LAW IN 2008 WAS LATE. THIS TYPE OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY HAD BEEN GOING ON FOR DECADES BEFORE THE 2000. AND SO IT’S HARD TO KNOW WHAT WHAT HE WAS THINKING." THE LAWS MADE IT HARDER FOR SEX CRIMES AGAINST MINORS TO BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE AFTER THE FACT. REMEMBER WE TOLD YOU HOW SOME OF THE SURVIVORS WERE BETWEEN THE AGES OF 13 AND 18? THAT GAP WAS CLOSED BY OUR LEGISLATURE JUST THIS YEAR. BUT THAT LAW WASN’T THE ONLY THING PASSED IN THE ROUNDHOUSE IN 2026. BETTER LATE THAN NEVER.
REPRESENTATIVE ANDREA REEB IS A MEMBER OF THE EPSTEIN TRUTH COMMISSION. IT’S A LEGISLATIVE SUBCOMMITTEE CREATED BY OUR LAWMAKERS JUST LAST MONTH. ITS MAIN OBJECTIVE IS TO PIECE THE PUZZLE TOGETHER ABOUT WHAT REALLY HAPPENED AT ZORRO RANCH. "WHAT KIND OF QUESTIONS CAME INTO YOUR MIND WHEN YOU FIRST HEARD ABOUT ZORRO RANCH?" "THE FIRST THING THAT CAME TO MY MIND IS, I’M SURE PROBABLY SOMETHING HAPPENED HERE IN NEW MEXICO IN REGARDS TO SOME TYPE OF SEX TRAFFICKING OR UNDERAGE, YOU KNOW, CRIMES." REEVES SAYS THE COMMITTEE HAS THE POWER TO SUBPOENA PEOPLE FOR QUESTIONING. REEB, A REPUBLICAN, SAYS IT’S INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT FOR THE COMMISSION TO BE BIPARTISAN. "YOU KNOW, IF IT’S A DEMOCRAT, IT’S A DEMOCRAT. IF IT’S A REPUBLICAN, IT’S A REPUBLICAN. AND SO WE’VE GOT NO PUSHBACK FROM OUR SIDE OF THE AISLE ON THIS. THEY FEEL WE SHOULD BE A PART OF IT." AS WE TOLD YOU EARLIER, ATTORNEY GENERAL RAUL TORRES ALSO ANNOUNCED HE WAS REOPENING THE STATE’S INVESTIGATION INTO EPSTEINS NEW MEXICO ACTIVITIES. TORRES DECLINED TO DO AN INTERVIEW, CITING THE EARLY STAGES OF HIS INVESTIGATION. "AND I DON’T THINK HE’S GOING TO LIMIT THE INVESTIGATION TO ANY PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS."
TO THIS DAY, ZORRO RANCH REMAINS SHROUDED IN SECRECY. WHEN EPSTEIN’S ESTATE SOLD THE PROPERTY BACK IN 2023, THE PROCEEDS WENT TO A FUND BENEFITING HIS VICTIMS. BUT IT TOOK NEARLY THREE YEARS TO LEARN WHO OWNS THE KEYS. PROPERTY RECORDS OBTAINED BY TARGET 7 FINALLY REVEAL DON HUFFINES PURCHASED THE LAND. SINCE HIS OWNERSHIP HAS BEEN MADE PUBLIC, HE HAS SHARED HIS PLANS TO TURN THE RANCH INTO A CHRISTIAN RETREAT. THE PROPERTY HAS ALSO BEEN RENAMED AS SAN RAFAEL RANCH. "I KEEP OPTIMISTIC AND I KEEP AN OPEN MIND FOR THAT. WE INTRODUCE YOU TO STATE LAND COMMISSIONER STEPHANIE GARCIA RICHARD EARLIER. I HOPE THAT WE CAN HAVE SOME VERY FRUITFUL DIALOG WITH THE NEW OWNERS OF THE PRIVATE LAND." BUT WHO IS DON HUFFINES? HE’S A BUSINESSMAN FROM TEXAS AND WAS ALSO A LONE STAR STATE SENATOR. HE’S ALSO TEXAS’S GOP NOMINEE FOR COMPTROLLER AND PROUDLY CLAIMS HE’S ENDORSED BY PRESIDENT TRUMP, WHOSE NAME APPEARS THOUSANDS OF TIMES IN THE EPSTEIN FILES. THE PRESIDENT HAS DENIED ANY WRONGDOING. HUFFINES SON, RUSSELL, HAS WORKED IN THE WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF CABINET AFFAIRS SINCE 2025. AFTER MANY ATTEMPTS, TARGET 7 WAS UNABLE TO MAKE CONTACT WITH HUFFINES. BUT WE DID GET AHOLD OF THE PEOPLE WHO WERE ON THE PROPERTY RUNNING DAY TO DAY OPERATIONS. THEY TELL US THE MANSION HAS BEEN GUTTED SINCE THE HUFFINES PURCHASED THE PROPERTY. THEY SAY THEY EVEN BROUGHT IN A PRIEST TO BLESS EVERY ROOM. THE LAND WAS RECENTLY SEARCHED, AND STATE OFFICIALS SAID HUFFINES GAVE THEM PERMISSION. STATE OFFICIALS TELL TARGET 7 THEY USED CADAVER SNIFFING DOGS DURING THEIR SEARCH. THEY’RE IN THE PROCESS OF PUTTING TOGETHER 3D SCANS.
BUT IF YOU REMEMBER, NOT ALL OF THE LAND THAT MADE UP ZORRO RANCH IS OWNED BY HUFFINES. WE WANTED TO KNOW WHAT WAS HAPPENING ON OUR LAND. GARCIA RICHARD TERMINATED THE GRAZING AGREEMENTS THE STATE HAD WITH EPSTEIN FOR THE STATE OWNED PORTIONS OF THE LAND BACK IN 2019. "WE HAVE NOT LEASED IT BACK OUT BECAUSE WE ARE HOPING TO GRANT ACCESS TO LAW ENFORCEMENT TO COME ONTO THE PROPERTY AND DO A PROPER INVESTIGATION." TAKE A LOOK HERE AT THIS MAP. THIS IS EPSTEIN’S ESTATE. THE LAND HIGHLIGHTED HERE IN ORANGE IS LAND THAT HE BOUGHT FROM THE KING FAMILY. IN BLUE IS STATE OWNED LAND THAT HE ACQUIRED LEASES FOR. THIS IS WHAT WE FOUND JUST WEST OF THE STATE OWNED LAND. THIS GATE. NO TRESPASSING SIGNS POSTED. PROPERTY OF SAN RAFAEL RANCH. THE NEW OWNERS. RIGHT BEHIND THE GATE IS THIS ROAD THAT LEADS DIRECTLY TO THE MANSION. HOWEVER, IT CUTS STRAIGHT THROUGH STATE OWNED LAND. GARCIA RICHARD TELLS US EVEN IF THE CURRENT OWNERS HAD PERMISSION TO STEP ONTO STATE LAND, MOTORIZED VEHICLES ARE NOT ALLOWED. "WE DEFINITELY WOULD HAVE A TRESPASS CASE FOR SURE."
IT’S FINDINGS LIKE THIS THAT MAKE SOME, LIKE EDDY ARAGON, DOUBTFUL. THAT ANSWERS ABOUT WHAT REALLY HAPPENED AT ZORRO RANCH WILL BE FOUND AND TOLD. "AND I’M NOT GOING TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THAT. AND I DOUBT ANYBODY ACTUALLY WILL." BUT RICHARD BALDERAS AND RUBY ARE HOPEFUL. IT IS UP TO NEW MEXICANS. IT IS UP TO THOSE OF US WHO ARE POLICY MAKERS HERE TO TURN THE TIDE ON THIS USE OF NEW MEXICO FOR CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. "I THINK THAT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE IS GOING TO DO A GOOD JOB PURSUING EVERY ANGLE. IN THIS CASE, WE’RE DOING IT NOW." THEY HOPE THAT NEW MEXICO IS NO LONGER A SAFE HAVEN FOR PEOPLE LIKE EPSTEIN. THEY’RE PUSHING TO HAVE POLITICAL CONNECTIONS EXPOSED. AND THESE LANDS IN OUR BEAUTIFUL DESERT WILL NEVER BE USED AGAIN TO KEEP SECRETS BEHIND THOSE GATES. SURVIVORS ENDURED ABUSE AND SUFFERING THAT CANNOT BE FULLY PUT INTO WORDS. AND THE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE BELIEVE THEY WERE UNTOUCHABLE, PROTECTED BY WEALTH, SHIELDED BY POWER, AND CONVINCED THE LAW WOULD NEVER REACH THEM.
OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, TARGET 7 INVESTIGATIONS WILL CONTINUE TO COMB THROUGH THE DOCUMENTS AS THEY’RE RELEASED. WE’LL ALSO KEEP AN EYE ON THE TRUTH COMMISSION AND WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S INVESTIGATION. THERE IS SO MUCH OUT THERE ABOUT JEFFREY EPSTEIN. IF YOU ARE WANTING TO KNOW MORE, YOU CAN HEAD TO KOAT.COM. YOU’LL FIND FULL INTERVIEWS, A SEARCHABLE TOOL TO THE DOCUMEN