Full Transcript for New Mexico Lawmakers Push Trafficking Reforms Tied to Epstein Failures (10/21/26)

to 18, and would update 33 00:02:00.650 --> 00:02:04.730 criminal penalties, particularly in cases where the victim is a child. 34 00:02:05.370 --> 00:02:07.530 It would also treat forcing someone to work off a 35 00:02:07.569 --> 00:02:11.110 debt as trafficking and expand the list of offenses that 36 00:02:11.150 --> 00:02:14.710 require someone to register as a sex offender. I think 37 00:02:14.789 --> 00:02:18.210 that is the most important part. I think there needs 38 00:02:18.229 --> 00:02:21.379 to be some kind of like uniform rule Where if 39 00:02:21.409 --> 00:02:24.360 you're a sex offender, you're a sex offender, right? Now, 40 00:02:24.379 --> 00:02:27.219 I understand every state has different laws and all that jazz. 41 00:02:27.719 --> 00:02:31.580 But bro, come on. If you're diddling kids in, say, 42 00:02:31.620 --> 00:02:34.340 I don't know, Maine, what makes anyone think that it's 43 00:02:34.360 --> 00:02:36.680 going to be different if your bitch ass moves to 44 00:02:36.719 --> 00:02:39.120 New Mexico? So I think that all the states should 45 00:02:39.159 --> 00:02:41.870 get together, the AGs from the states, and try and 46 00:02:41.889 --> 00:02:46.349 put something, you know, on paper, right? Some kind of cooperation, 47 00:02:46.409 --> 00:02:48.590 whatever it might be. But at the end of the day, 48 00:02:48.629 --> 00:02:51.860 it's up to the state congress... to ratify whatever laws, 49 00:02:52.180 --> 00:02:54.479 or change whatever laws that are already on the books. 50 00:02:55.419 --> 00:02:59.620 So hopefully that's what they're going to do here. Despite 51 00:02:59.650 --> 00:03:02.750 pleading guilty in Florida to procuring a minor for prostitution, 52 00:03:03.189 --> 00:03:06.229 Epstein was never required to register as a sex offender 53 00:03:06.509 --> 00:03:09.710 in New Mexico, where he owned property, largely because New 54 00:03:09.750 --> 00:03:13.250 Mexico law set a lower age limit for victims in Florida. 55 00:03:13.849 --> 00:03:16.150 And that's why he was so adamant about the only 56 00:03:16.210 --> 00:03:20.129 person coming forward to accuse him being that 17-year-old girl. 57 00:03:20.939 --> 00:03:22.800 If it was any of the younger girls, it would 58 00:03:22.819 --> 00:03:25.699 have posed real big problems for Epstein. So that's why 59 00:03:25.740 --> 00:03:28.060 they maneuvered the way they did. And that's why the 60 00:03:28.099 --> 00:03:31.800 letter that we're reading right now between Jeffrey Epstein's lawyers 61 00:03:32.080 --> 00:03:35.259 and the DOJ is so telling. Because it gives you 62 00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:38.530 that inside look, right? You're getting inside baseball as to 63 00:03:38.539 --> 00:03:41.310 how this all went down. And the ugliness that it 64 00:03:41.370 --> 00:03:46.460 revealed is eye-opening. In addition to raising the age of 65 00:03:46.500 --> 00:03:50.259 protection to 18 and expanding the offenses that require sex 66 00:03:50.300 --> 00:03:54.199

offender registration, Dixon said the law would require lifelong sex 67 00:03:54.240 --> 00:03:59.669 offender registration for people convicted of child prostitution crimes. Ert, 68 00:03:59.710 --> 00:04:02.889 full stop. No such thing as a child prostitute. A 69 00:04:02.909 --> 00:04:05.949 child can't consent. So how can a child be a prostitute? 70 00:04:07.409 --> 00:04:09.800 I mean, you can call things whatever you want. Fuck, 71 00:04:09.819 --> 00:04:11.819 you can call me a billionaire. Doesn't make it true. 72 00:04:12.259 --> 00:04:15.659 You know what is true? Jeffrey Epstein wasn't soliciting prostitutes. 73 00:04:16.060 --> 00:04:19.819 He was going after high school-aged girls. Okay? They can't 74 00:04:19.870 --> 00:04:24.149 consent to be prostitutes. Her other measure, the Victim Rights Amendment, 75 00:04:24.389 --> 00:04:27.389 would go to voters in the next general election as 76 00:04:27.449 --> 00:04:30.829 a proposed constitutional amendment if it passes out of both 77 00:04:30.889 --> 00:04:34.569 chambers of the state legislature. The proposed amendment to the 78 00:04:34.610 --> 00:04:38.870 state constitution Victim Rights Section would give survivors greater privacy 79 00:04:38.910 --> 00:04:42.389 protections Expand the state's definition of who counts as a 80 00:04:42.430 --> 00:04:45.990 survivor and give survivors the right to refuse being interviewed 81 00:04:46.350 --> 00:04:50.990 by the suspect's attorneys. Yeah, I don't know about that one. Like, 82 00:04:51.029 --> 00:04:52.930 how are we going to get to the bottom of things, right? 83 00:04:54.949 --> 00:04:57.430 There has to be a deposition. There has to be 84 00:04:58.050 --> 00:05:01.050 a fact-finding period. And if somebody is accused of a crime, 85 00:05:01.389 --> 00:05:04.290 they should be able to defend themselves from those accusations. 86 00:05:05.250 --> 00:05:07.910 So I don't know if that part is going to 87 00:05:08.490 --> 00:05:11.500 make it over the finish line. but maybe some version 88 00:05:11.540 --> 00:05:15.120 of that where it has to be a targeted interview 89 00:05:15.480 --> 00:05:18.160 where they can only focus on the allegations at hand 90 00:05:18.459 --> 00:05:21.129 and not try and destroy survivors' credibility. I think that 91 00:05:21.149 --> 00:05:26.509 would be a bit more digestible with people. Under the amendment, 92 00:05:26.750 --> 00:05:29.269 if a survivor agreed to participate in such an interview, 93 00:05:29.529 --> 00:05:31.189 they would have the power to end it at any 94 00:05:31.230 --> 00:05:33.569 time and they could have a support person in the 95 00:05:33.620 --> 00:05:36.860 room with them. Well, yeah, that's a good idea. Let 96 00:05:36.879 --> 00:05:39.199 them have their lawyer in there or whatever. And if 97 00:05:39.240 --> 00:05:42.120 the interview veers off course, then yeah, they should be 98 00:05:42.139 --> 00:05:45.500 able to stop it. Both measures will close the gap 99 00:05:45.689

--> 00:05:48.670 that leave our survivors of human trafficking and child sexual 100 00:05:48.730 --> 00:05:52.769 exploitation without the protection and voice they deserve. Dixon said 101 00:05:52.829 --> 00:05:55.769 at a news conference in New Mexico's Department of Justice, 102 00:05:56.230 --> 00:06:00.050 Albuquerque headquarters. And you know, New Mexico in general has 103 00:06:00.069 --> 00:06:03.670 a lot of problems. When I was there doing my 104 00:06:04.170 --> 00:06:07.610 investigation down at Zorro Ranch, the things that I heard 105 00:06:07.649 --> 00:06:12.449 from people and not just about Epstein, were stomach-turning. The 106 00:06:12.490 --> 00:06:15.209 amount of girls that are missing that are indigenous in 107 00:06:15.230 --> 00:06:18.639 the state of New Mexico is unbelievable. Now look, I'm 108 00:06:18.660 --> 00:06:20.160 not going to sit here and tell you that Epstein 109 00:06:20.199 --> 00:06:23.019 had anything to do with that, but I don't know. 110 00:06:24.720 --> 00:06:27.699 I don't know for sure. This man loved to get 111 00:06:27.720 --> 00:06:30.709 himself some high school girls everywhere he went. So you 112 00:06:30.730 --> 00:06:32.509 mean to tell me he wasn't doing the same thing 113 00:06:32.850 --> 00:06:36.329 in New Mexico, especially where the age of consent was different? 114 00:06:37.269 --> 00:06:40.689 I have a hard time believing that. And when I 115 00:06:40.730 --> 00:06:43.050 look at all the indigenous girls that have gone missing, 116 00:06:43.490 --> 00:06:46.129 and you look at some of the characters in Jeffrey 117 00:06:46.209 --> 00:06:51.420 Epstein's menagerie, well, your boy has some questions. And I 118 00:06:51.459 --> 00:06:56.199 think that's an avenue that certainly needs to be explored. Torres, 119 00:06:56.439 --> 00:06:59.970 who began his career by trying child abuse cases, said 120 00:06:59.990 --> 00:07:03.110 he has long believed New Mexico's protections for survivors of 121 00:07:03.170 --> 00:07:06.839 sex crimes stand among the weakest in the nation. And 122 00:07:06.899 --> 00:07:10.100 remember all the way back in 2021, when I told 123 00:07:10.139 --> 00:07:12.819 you that Jeffrey Epstein chose New Mexico for a reason? 124 00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:17.139 This is why. He knew exactly what he was doing. 125 00:07:18.660 --> 00:07:22.439 As an investigatory subcommittee at the state legislature, and Torres 126 00:07:22.620 --> 00:07:26.970 and MDOJ investigate Epstein's time and potential crimes in New Mexico, 127 00:07:27.529 --> 00:07:30.149 he said it's particularly important for state leaders to make 128 00:07:30.189 --> 00:07:34.069 good on their promises of delivering justice for survivors and 129 00:07:34.089 --> 00:07:37.509 their family. Well, that would be a first. Imagine that, 130 00:07:37.889 --> 00:07:40.519 somebody in power actually doing what they say they're going 131 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:43.540 to do. We all might drop dead of heart attacks 132

00:07:43.600 --> 00:07:48.220 or strokes if that ever happened. There are literally hundreds 133 00:07:48.279 --> 00:07:51.139 if not thousands of survivors in the state that are 134 00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:54.560 victims of horrific crimes year in and year out, Torres said. 135 00:07:55.220 --> 00:07:59.939 Their perpetrator is not internationally known, politically connected, or otherwise 136 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:04.240 prominently featured in national news stories. These are the victims 137 00:08:04.459 --> 00:08:07.839 that go unseen all too often in our criminal justice system, 138 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:09.759 and I think we need to keep that in mind. 139 00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:14.649 Most of these human trafficking situations and cases are nowhere 140 00:08:14.730 --> 00:08:17.569 near on the scale of Jeffrey Epstein. That doesn't make 141 00:08:17.589 --> 00:08:20.529 them any less important, and it certainly doesn't mean we 142 00:08:20.550 --> 00:08:23.569 should ignore them. But I think with the Epstein story, 143 00:08:23.629 --> 00:08:25.629 it shines a light on all of it. And once 144 00:08:25.670 --> 00:08:28.220 that door is open and people walk through, they start 145 00:08:28.259 --> 00:08:31.199 to understand the scope. I mean, a lot of people 146 00:08:31.240 --> 00:08:35.629 don't get it, but right now, in the year 2026, 147 00:08:35.629 --> 00:08:39.309 There's more slavery than there's ever been. Now, maybe not 148 00:08:39.330 --> 00:08:41.490 the kind of slavery that we're all used to, right? People, 149 00:08:41.529 --> 00:08:45.240 you know, out in fields or whatever. But modern day slavery, 150 00:08:45.509 --> 00:08:49.139 human trafficking, people being sold, people being moved. There's open 151 00:08:49.179 --> 00:08:52.440 air slave markets in places like Libya. So this is 152 00:08:52.519 --> 00:08:55.000 a big problem. And when it comes to human trafficking, 153 00:08:55.559 --> 00:08:59.779 we need laws that are way more harsh. So anybody 154 00:08:59.820 --> 00:09:02.779 who's looking to take that step in that direction is 155 00:09:02.820 --> 00:09:06.559 somebody that I'm willing to at least listen to. And 156 00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:09.919 if they're walking the walk, then support them. But the 157 00:09:09.960 --> 00:09:12.889 first step of all of that is getting the conversation started. 158 00:09:15.830 --> 00:09:19.049 Advocates for human trafficking survivors backed the proposals at a 159 00:09:19.070 --> 00:09:22.649 news conference with Dixon and Torres Thursday morning. Shelley Repp, 160 00:09:22.789 --> 00:09:27.149 executive director of Albuquerque non-profit New Mexico Dream Center, which 161 00:09:27.250 --> 00:09:30.909 advocates for trafficking survivors, said the provision to let survivors 162 00:09:31.340 --> 00:09:34.899 opt out of repeatedly recounting the abuses they endured before 163 00:09:34.940 --> 00:09:37.399 a criminal trial will make it easier for them to 164 00:09:37.460 --> 00:09:41.470 navigate the criminal justice system. So there's no doubt about it. 165 00:09:41.919 --> 00:09:45.129 It is an arduous process. And a lot of times 166 00:09:45.169 --> 00:09:48.409 these women aren't believed. Some of the stories that I've 167 00:09:48.429 --> 00:09:52.250 heard directly from survivors are just unreal. And the fact 168 00:09:52.289 --> 00:09:54.789 that people have ignored them for so long, that people 169 00:09:54.850 --> 00:09:56.809 knew about what was going on and looked the other way, 170 00:09:57.230 --> 00:10:00.690 is completely and wholly unacceptable. And the people that did 171 00:10:00.710 --> 00:10:02.610 look the other way, the people that knew what was 172 00:10:02.649 --> 00:10:05.210 going on and chose not to act, they need to 173 00:10:05.230 --> 00:10:07.769 be held accountable as well. And maybe this kind of 174 00:10:07.830 --> 00:10:12.269 legislation is a step in the right direction. It's important 175 00:10:12.289 --> 00:10:14.799 to me and it's important to the clients I represent 176 00:10:14.820 --> 00:10:17.340 to be able to say, you can be protected, she said. 177 00:10:18.080 --> 00:10:20.330 You as a victim are can have the time that 178 00:10:20.350 --> 00:10:22.830 you need to recover. You as a victim can have 179 00:10:22.850 --> 00:10:26.370 the protections that you deserve. We as a legal system 180 00:10:26.710 --> 00:10:31.190 do not want to re-traumatize and re-victimize you. Unfortunately, this 181 00:10:31.210 --> 00:10:34.940 whole process, that's what happens. When you have to go 182 00:10:34.960 --> 00:10:38.879 through this and recount it, it's difficult. But I think 183 00:10:38.940 --> 00:10:41.139 that the one portion of this that they might have 184 00:10:41.179 --> 00:10:45.340 trouble with is the not having the lawyer's interview the accuser. 185 00:10:45.720 --> 00:10:49.379 I think that's going to be a pretty big issue, right? 186 00:10:49.779 --> 00:10:54.799 Constitutionally speaking and otherwise. But short of that, everything else 187 00:10:54.840 --> 00:10:57.639 looks good. And I think that they should have no 188 00:10:57.679 --> 00:11:00.019 problem getting the rest of that over the finish line. 189 00:11:00.440 --> 00:11:02.399 But I think most of us have been around long 190 00:11:02.450 --> 00:11:05.529 enough to know that what should happen and what does 191 00:11:05.590 --> 00:11:10.029 happen are two very different things. So as usual, we'll 192 00:11:10.049 --> 00:11:11.769 keep an eye on it and we'll see where it 193 00:11:11.809 --> 00:11:16.379 all goes. All the information that goes with this episode 194 00:11:16.700 --> 00:11:18.879 can be found on In the description box.