Florida's Top Federal Prosecutor Gave Epstein a Lenient Sentence. But *New Mexico's* Top Federal Prosecutor Was Epstein's Personal POA and Never Investigated Him At All.
The nation continues to be scandalized by what happened in Florida, yet ignores what happened in New Mexico. Why?
When the Miami Herald’s Julie K. Brown won a Pulitzer Prize this week for exposing how the top federal prosecutor in South Florida gave Jeffrey Epstein a secret, illegal deal to avoid prison, the nation was reminded that powerful men rarely face justice. But here in New Mexico, all major news outlets have ignored a much worse story completely: that the top federal prosecutor in New Mexico — the state where Epstein owned and operated Zorro Ranch — not only never prosecuted Epstein at all, Epstein gave him personal power of attorney to sign documents to purchase the ranch on Epstein’s behalf. This news has only been reported here in The Pugilist, and for the life of me I can’t figure out why that is.
John J. Kelly served as United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico from 1993 to 2000 — the same job Alexander Acosta held in Florida. Nine months before assuming that post, Kelly had signed legal documents for the purchase of Zorro Ranch on Epstein’s behalf — not for Epstein, but as Epstein. In March 1993, Kelly held Epstein’s limited power of attorney at the closing on Zorro Ranch, the New Mexico property where Epstein abused his victims. Federal documents in the January 2026 DOJ Epstein file dump prove it: SDNY_GM_00173766 and SDNY_GM_00173767.
Kelly has never publicly disclosed this relationship.
Kelly was appointed United States Attorney for New Mexico by President Bill Clinton (whose New Mexico campaign Kelly chaired) in the same year he signed the Zorro Ranch documents on Epstein’s behalf. He now had federal jurisdiction over Zorro Ranch. He held that office for seven years. He never investigated or prosecuted Epstein. Never got to the point of giving him a sweetheart deal, because he ignored allegations of criminal wrongdoing by Epstein and others in New Mexico entirely.
In 1996, artist Maria Farmer reported to the FBI that Epstein had stolen nude photographs of her minor sister Annie, who would later confirm that Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell had sexually assaulted her that year at Zorro Ranch. The FBI took no meaningful action. Kelly was the United States Attorney. He did nothing at all.
Acosta at least prosecuted Epstein, however weakly. The deal he cut was corrupt and cowardly — a secret agreement that kept Epstein out of federal prison — but he put Epstein in front of a judge. That deal eventually cost Acosta his position as Labor Secretary in President Trump’s cabinet. He now works as an executive at Newsmax, because of course he does.
Kelly has faced no such consequences. After leaving the U.S. Attorney’s office he ran for Congress as the New Mexico Democratic Party nominee. As recently as 2023, Kelly served as president of Albuquerque’s ethics board.
The difference in how the Florida and New Mexico US Attorney stories have played out on the national stage and in direct consequences for the attorneys involved speaks to the importance of having courageous large media organizations in a state, willing to take on their own political power structures, regardless of political party.
Julie K. Brown had the Miami Herald behind her — editors, lawyers, and institutional support. When attorney Alan Dershowitz personally pressured the Pulitzer committee to blacklist her, the Herald held firm.
New Mexico has no media outlet like that. I’m the only one writing about any of this. I have a staff of two at The Pugilist, and one of them is me. I sent this information to The Santa Fe New Mexican, and they still have not followed up on it.
The documents are federal records. They are public. They have been published. The question is not whether the story exists. The question is why no one in corporate news media in New Mexico or the nation at large seems to find it interesting when terrible things happen in this state instead of in Florida.
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I am reading through this, and thinking to myself, “Alisa is heading for a Pulitzer of her own!”
Is it because opening this can of worms would be the “beginning of the end” of the entire operation??
This would, of course, include the takedown of all of the lying, duplicitous, manipulative, narcissistic and sociopathic individuals, couples, families and institutions who had some degree of involvement and collusion in the abuse, rape, and/or murder of probably more than 1000 girls. And then there is all of the U.S. covert activity with respect to Israel, Russia, and other countries, along with those who financed all of this activity, as well as those whose scientific intelligence helped to create all of the “architecture” involved—from literal planning and building of the Ranch Main House and its underground facilities to the high-level spying equipment, soundproofing materials, genetics operations, etc. etc. A chain reaction could conceivably occur which would lead to the exposure of everything and everyone. Imagine.
I hope to still be here to witness the takedown and punishment of all
those involved. And to celebrate the moment that all of the survivors of this hellscape have long awaited.