SANTA FE — Two Republican members of a New Mexico legislative commission investigating Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to the state are accusing the panel’s Democratic chairwoman of removing a reference to gubernatorial nominee Deb Haaland from an interim report released last week.
Republican Reps. Andrea Reeb of Clovis and Bill Hall of Farmington said the four-member commission had agreed to include information about Haaland’s 2014 flight aboard an airplane chartered by Epstein. They said the reference was removed from the final 119-page report without their knowledge, raising concerns about whether political considerations influenced the decision.
“The only justifiable reason to remove Haaland’s name from the report is to protect her from any political fallout while she is campaigning to be New Mexico’s next governor. This is unacceptable,” Reeb said. “We must be able to assure the public that political considerations are not influencing what is included or excluded from this investigation.”
Commission Chair Andrea Romero, a Santa Fe Democrat, disputed the Republicans’ account, saying all four members participated in preparing the interim report with the commission’s legal team.
“All of our members worked with our legal team to compile a draft report with the agreed-upon content, and it was the responsibility of every member to ensure the report reflected what we want to convey,” Romero said in a statement Tuesday.
Romero said commissioners collectively decided not to identify Epstein survivors and victims or people whose interactions with Epstein were considered tangential. She said she was surprised to learn of the Republican members’ concerns through news reports and that the commission would work to improve its internal procedures.
The report does identify several prominent people who traveled aboard aircraft owned by Epstein, including former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former President Bill Clinton.
Haaland’s campaign has acknowledged that she took the 2014 flight but has said she had no relationship with Epstein and did not know how the aircraft was chartered. At the time, Haaland was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, running alongside gubernatorial candidate Gary King. Haaland, King and campaign staff traveled to Washington, D.C., for a fundraising trip.
The flight became an issue during this year’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, when Haaland’s opponent, Sam Bregman, highlighted it in campaign advertising. Haaland defeated Bregman in the June 2 primary and will face Republican Gregg Hull in the November general election.
A Haaland campaign spokeswoman said Tuesday that the campaign had no communication with commission members regarding the interim report.
Lawmakers created the bipartisan truth-finding commission during this year’s 30-day legislative session to investigate Epstein’s activities in New Mexico, including whether weaknesses in state law or favorable treatment from law enforcement allowed him to sexually abuse underage victims at his Zorro Ranch near Stanley.
Reeb and Hall said they were unable to review last-minute changes to the interim report before its release. The omission was subsequently raised by Senate Republican floor leader William Sharer of Farmington.
Despite the disagreement, the Republican commissioners said they remain committed to the investigation as long as it operates as a “truly bipartisan effort.”
Romero said the panel would remain focused on its investigation.
“The commission will maintain an open, transparent process focused on the important work in front of us, not the headwinds of the day or attempts to politicize our pursuit of justice for victims,” she said.
The commission is expected to issue its final report by the end of the year. Its next meeting has not been scheduled.
