Kathrine Frich
Any interpretation of the reply looks terrible for the government.
When official government accounts try to correct the record online, a single misplaced reply can spark a public relations disaster.
A brief slip of the keyboard recently handed critics a perfect piece of ammunition.
The mistake immediately overshadowed a much darker legal battle happening behind the scenes.
Two small words
The awkward moment began on the social media platform X according to Daily Beast. Journalist and lawyer Aaron Parnas posted a sharp criticism of the current administration.
He wrote that “not enough people are talking about” how officials are allegedly blocking the only active criminal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
The Justice Department quickly fired back from its rapid response account. They replied with just two words. The official message simply said, “We are.”
That short phrase made it look like federal officials were openly admitting to obstructing the case. The department quickly linked to a fact check that called the obstruction claims “demonstrably false.”
A spokesperson later told The Daily Beast that the account was actually responding to the claim that nobody was talking about the issue. But the internet was not convinced.
One user, Candid Candor, pointed out that either interpretation looked terrible for the government.
Fighting for files
The online blunder highlights a very real conflict brewing in the American Southwest. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez is currently trying to secure unredacted federal files.
These documents relate directly to Epstein’s Zorro Ranch near Santa Fe.
Torrez claims federal authorities are stalling his local investigation. He recently sent a blistering letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously worked as President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer.
“Every day that the USDOJ withholds these records, the foundation upon which a New Mexico prosecution could be built erodes,” Torrez wrote in the letter.
He added that the delays are actively hurting the case. “Witnesses relocate and become unreachable. Memories, already strained by years of trauma, fade further. Physical and documentary evidence degrades, is lost, or is rendered more difficult to authenticate with the passage of time,” Torrez wrote.
Digging into the ranch
Federal officials strongly deny the accusation. A Justice Department spokesperson told CNN that the agency had “substantively” answered the requests from New Mexico last month.
The spokesperson added that the department “welcomes New Mexico undertaking additional investigation of the Zorro Ranch and stands ready to provide necessary assistance with New Mexico’s investigation.”
The ranch probe reopened earlier this year after newly unsealed documents revealed a terrifying allegation.
An email claimed that two foreign girls were buried on the property under orders from Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Trump actually signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law in late 2025 to force the release of these records. Still, local prosecutors say they have been waiting over 130 days for the raw evidence they desperately need.
Sources: The Daily Beast, CNN
