Santa Fe, NM — The New Mexico Senate Republican Caucus is calling on the New Mexico Epstein Survivors' Truth Commission to issue subpoenas compelling Gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland and Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury to testify, under oath, about their knowledge of and connections to Jeffrey Epstein and individuals associated with his criminal network.
The bipartisan Commission has pledged to "leave no stone unturned" and has already issued more than a dozen subpoenas to federal agencies, banks, and law enforcement as part of its investigation into Epstein's Zorro Ranch. The Senate Republican Caucus believes that the same standard of scrutiny must extend to New Mexico's political leadership, not just to outside institutions.
Released Epstein files confirm that in 2014, Deb Haaland flew on a private jet chartered by Jeffrey Epstein while she was the Lieutenant Governor candidate on Gary King's ticket. Haaland's campaign has stated she had no relationship with Epstein and no knowledge of how the flight was arranged. New Mexicans deserve to hear that account directly from Haaland, under oath, rather than through campaign statements alone.
Separately, it has been reported that Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury may have previously been employed by a nonprofit organization with ties to documented Epstein associate and fellow criminal conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell. These suspected connections deserve responses from the Congresswoman in a public and transparent setting in the best interest of the citizens of New Mexico.
In addition, recent reporting has raised questions about whether individuals connected to both the Haaland and Stansbury campaigns have sought to discourage journalists from asking further questions about Epstein's network in New Mexico, and whether those same connections could affect the scope of the Commission's work. If true, New Mexicans deserve to know whether anyone with influence over this investigation has a personal or political stake in limiting it.
"If this Commission is serious about being nonpartisan and getting to the truth for survivors and for the people of this state, it cannot pick and choose who answers tough questions based on their political party," said Senate Republican Leader Bill Sharer (R-Farmington). "Subpoenaing federal agencies while giving a pass to two of the most powerful Democrats in New Mexico is not transparency. It's selective accountability, and New Mexicans will see right through it." Senator Sharer concluded, "If gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland has nothing to hide, I'm sure she will have no issue publicly explaining what she was doing on Jeffrey Epstein's private jet to the people of New Mexico."
The Senate Republican Caucus is formally requesting that the Commission take up this matter at its next meeting and issue subpoenas accordingly. Should the Commission decline to pursue this common-sense step, the Caucus and the citizens of New Mexico will be forced to question whether the Commission, as currently constituted, is capable of conducting the truly nonpartisan, survivor-centered investigation it has promised New Mexicans. Furthermore, members of the Commission with apparent conflicts of interest (such as familial ties to potential subpoena recipients) must understandably recuse themselves from voting on any motion to issue subpoenas.
The people of New Mexico were promised that no one would be shielded from this investigation. The New Mexico Senate Republican Caucus intends to make sure that promise is kept.
