SANTA FE — State Rep. Andrea Romero, D-Santa Fe, is accusing Attorney General Raúl Torrez of using a sudden policy change to force her resignation from a part-time job at the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office — a move she says is aimed at disrupting the work of the Epstein Survivors Truth Commission, which she chairs. Torrez’s office has rejected the accusation.
Romero resigned from the DA’s office position a day after Torrez’s Department of Justice said Aug. 31 it is unlawful for sitting lawmakers to be employed in a prosecutor’s office, according to a statement released by Romero and reported by KOB 4. The department’s position stems from NMSA §§ 2-1-3, 2-1-4 and 2-1-5, statutes governing legislator compensation and outside state employment that carry felony penalties for violations — the same provisions cited by House Republican Whip Alan Martinez, R-Rio Rancho, in an Aug. 28 ethics complaint over Romero’s employment.
“AG Raul Torrez and the NM DOJ changed its policy on August 31st about paid part-time work while serving as an unpaid state representative,” Romero said in the statement. “Prior to this, I sought and had received explicit authorization to be allowed to hold both positions, a fact the AG’s office was well-aware of.”
Romero called the timing no coincidence. “I believe this is an attempt to disrupt the work of our Survivor Truth Commission that seeks justice for the many young people who were harmed by Jeffrey Epstein and his co-collaborators in our state,” she said, adding that her work as commission chair “will continue undeterred.”
Romero also argued the policy change will ripple beyond her own case. “Our New Mexico State Assembly is the only state legislature in the country that does not compensate its legislators,” she said. “AG Torrez’s decision will impact other sitting lawmakers and force them to resign from current positions, impeding all our efforts to serve our community and constituents to the best of our abilities.”
Torrez’s office responded in a statement reported by KOB 4, rejecting any suggestion the guidance was politically motivated. “Rather than moonlighting as a part-time prosecutor, Attorney General Torrez has spent the better part of twenty-years working as a real prosecutor and standing up for victims’ rights,” the statement said. “That’s why he advocated to protect survivors of sexual assault from the abusive pre-trial witness interviews that traumatize hundreds of survivors each year — a bill that Representative Andrea Romero voted against.”
The statement continued: “We appreciate her frustration at losing her part-time job at the District Attorney’s Office, but we reject any insinuation that our recently released guidance on that issue was motivated by anything other than the law. We remain committed to supporting Epstein survivors through our ongoing criminal investigation and hope that Representative Romero’s newfound commitment to victims’ rights will be on full display in the upcoming legislative session, not just on social media.”
The resignation comes amid separate friction on the commission itself. Republican members have criticized Romero for removing Democratic gubernatorial nominee Deb Haaland’s name and connection to Epstein from the commission’s first report without consulting them, according to KOB 4. Records released by the Department of Justice show Haaland flew on a plane chartered by Epstein during her 2014 run for lieutenant governor; Haaland has said she never knew Epstein.
This is a developing story.
