EXPOSED: Democratic Governor Frontrunner Flew on Jeffrey Epstein’s Private Jet
A Democratic candidate poised to become New Mexico’s next governor flew aboard a private jet owned by convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein in 2014, according to damning emails that have just surfaced.
Deb Haaland, President Biden’s former Interior Secretary and current Democratic frontrunner in the gubernatorial race, was a passenger on the Epstein-linked aircraft alongside then-candidate Gary King and three others for a Washington, DC meeting.
The revelations couldn’t come at a worse time for Haaland, who maintains a comfortable lead in recent polling but now faces serious questions about her judgment and associations.
The Epstein Connection Runs Deep
At the time of the flight, Haaland was running for lieutenant governor on King’s ticket. But here’s what voters need to understand: Epstein himself personally arranged the jet on King’s behalf, according to the newly released correspondence.
“Please call Gary King when you have a moment… He said he was returning your call but also wanted to speak to you about possibly using your plane to get him from Santa Fe evening of Sept 8th (around 8pm) so he could make a breakfast in DC on Sept. 9th,” reads an email directly to Epstein.
Flight documentation confirms the aircraft was chartered through JEGE LLC—a company tied to Epstein and registered to his notorious private island in the Virgin Islands.
Haaland’s Convenient Memory Lapse
Haaland now claims complete ignorance about the plane’s ownership. Her campaign spokesperson, Hannah Menchhoff, insists “Deb never had any interaction with him and the way in which the plane was chartered was never communicated to her.”
That’s a convenient excuse that strains credulity. How does a serious political candidate not ask basic questions about who’s providing luxury private jet travel for a crucial campaign trip?
Menchhoff added that “Jeffrey Epstein is a despicable predator who committed heinous crimes and Deb strongly supports a full investigation into the crimes committed both in New Mexico and abroad.”
Strong words—but only after getting caught.
The King Family’s Troubling History
The web of connections extends far beyond a single flight. Gary King’s relationship with Epstein wasn’t casual or coincidental.
In 1993, King’s father—former New Mexico Governor Bruce King—sold the infamous Zorro Ranch in Santa Fe County directly to Epstein. That sprawling property became one of Epstein’s key locations for alleged criminal activity, and state officials only recently announced they’re reopening investigations into what transpired there.
Despite personally coordinating the private jet through Epstein, Gary King told reporters on September 9, 2014—the very day after using the plane—that he would return $35,600 in campaign contributions from Epstein-associated companies because it was “the right thing to do.”
If it was the right thing to do with his money, why wasn’t it the right thing to refuse his airplane?
A Pattern of Poor Judgment
Newly released emails reveal King met personally with Epstein in New Mexico in August 2010—two full years after Epstein had already pled guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor.
“Gary King’s assistant called and said Mr King can meet with you this Saturday in Santa Fe,” one email states.
King now claims he only met Epstein once, to offer condolences for his father’s passing. He characterizes it as an innocent hour-and-a-half conversation where “we reminisced about what a great man my father was” and discussed Epstein’s relationship with the Santa Fe Institute.
An hour and a half. With a convicted sex offender. To reminisce.
The Accountability Gap
King insists his campaign organization chartered the plane, not him personally, and that “none of the contacts identified themselves as working for Mr. Epstein.”
“If I had known in advance that the jet ‘belonged’ to Mr. Epstein, I would have asked my campaign to contract with a different company,” King told reporters.
But the email evidence directly contradicts this narrative. The message explicitly references “your plane” in communication directed to Epstein himself.
What New Mexico Voters Deserve to Know
This isn’t about guilt by association. This is about judgment, transparency, and accountability.
Deb Haaland accepted luxury travel on a private jet without, by her own admission, asking basic questions about who was providing it. That’s either willful ignorance or convenient amnesia—neither quality voters should reward with the governor’s mansion.
The timing is particularly troubling. By September 2014, Epstein’s status as a registered sex offender was public knowledge. His 2008 guilty plea to soliciting prostitution from a minor wasn’t some obscure court record—it was widely reported.
Yet both King and Haaland somehow remained blissfully unaware as they climbed aboard Epstein’s jet for a cross-country flight.
The Larger Pattern
New Mexico has become ground zero for the ongoing Epstein scandal. His Zorro Ranch property—purchased from the King family—is now the subject of renewed criminal investigations. The state’s political establishment clearly had closer ties to Epstein than previously acknowledged.
Haaland’s current frontrunner status in the gubernatorial race makes these revelations all the more significant. Voters deserve full transparency about every interaction, every flight, every meeting, and every financial connection to Epstein’s network.
Her campaign’s boilerplate denunciation of Epstein as a “despicable predator” rings hollow without a complete accounting of how she ended up on his private jet and what due diligence, if any, was performed before accepting that travel.
The Standard We Should Demand
Political candidates regularly face scrutiny for far less serious associations. The bar for judgment and ethical standards should be highest for those seeking executive office.
New Mexico voters must ask themselves: Is this the leadership we want? Someone who either didn’t ask questions about luxury perks or chose not to share what they knew?
The emails don’t lie. The flight records don’t lie. The connections between New Mexico’s Democratic establishment and Jeffrey Epstein are documented, extensive, and deeply troubling.
Deb Haaland owes voters more than a spokesperson’s statement. She owes them the full truth about what she knew, when she knew it, and why she thought accepting Epstein’s hospitality was appropriate—even if arranged through intermediaries.
Until those answers come, New Mexico’s voters should think very carefully about who they’re about to elect as their next governor.
The 2014 flight may be in the past, but the questions it raises about judgment and character are urgently relevant to the future.
