Washington DC - The Democratic-run state of New Mexico sued the Department of Justice for "complete and unredacted access" to files related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigations.

New Mexico's lawsuit, filed with a federal court in Washington DC, alleges that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche purposefully stonewalled the state's criminal investigation into Epstein.

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez alleged that the DOJ's inaction "actively harms victims and undermines the public interest." He claimed that he and senior prosecutors "have faced sustained resistance."

In the lawsuit, Torrez demanded that a court force the DOJ to release the complete and unredacted Epstein files to New Mexican authorities so that the state's investigation can be completed without interference.

An unedited release of the Epstein files would be particularly important to New Mexico because many of the notorious sex offender's crimes were committed at his sprawling ranch near Santa Fe.

"Zorro Ranch is referenced thousands of times in the files [and] Todd Blanche has the authority right now, with the stroke of a pen, to grant us this access," Torrez said during an appearance on MS NOW last month.

"Every day that goes by that it doesn't happen is another day that we've delayed delivering justice for the survivors in this case."

Referencing his lawsuit against the DOJ on Wednesday, Torrez declared on X: "Survivors have waited long enough. The federal government is blocking access to the unredacted Epstein files. We're fighting in court to get the truth."

In response to queries about the lawsuit, the DOJ said it had not released some information New Mexico requested because it is not allowed to disclose "victim-identifying information carte blanche."

The DOJ did say, however, that while New Mexico "has provided no lawful basis" for access to the files, the department is willing to work with investigators.