https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/epstein/new-mexico-signed-360k-no-bid-contract-with-d-c-pr-firm-for-epstein-investigation/article_a9238bc2-7291-4b5f-8176-1d5d4d1a5ee7.html
The New Mexico Department of Justice in May signed a $360,000, yearlong contract with an out-of-state public relations firm for help with the Jeffrey Epstein investigation — with no competitive bidding process.
Washington, D.C.-based SKDK, a prominent public affairs and political consulting firm known for its work in Democratic politics — including in New Mexico — has been paid around $110,000 since March for its work assisting with public relations on the reopened investigation into Epstein through two separate contracts worth $420,000.
The firm secured a $60,000 contract lasting from March to May, and has been paid around $50,000 so far as part of the current no-bid contract, according to the New Mexico Sunshine Portal and a spokesperson for the agency.
It was unclear whether the initial contract was awarded through a competitive process.
The Department of Justice in late February reopened a criminal investigation into Epstein, a financier who owned the massive Zorro Ranch in southern Santa Fe County from 1993 until his death in 2019 in federal custody, as he was awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking.
The state agency, which has three staff members who deal with communications, has been inundated with media requests since the investigation kicked off, spokesperson Lauren Rodriguez said.
“SKDK was selected to help manage the volume of national and international media inquiries following the announcement of the reopened criminal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch,” she said in a statement.
“The firm’s responsibilities include coordinating survivor communications and engagement, an area where its staff bring direct experience from prior survivor-facing communications work, including on matters related to Epstein and Harvey Weinstein,” Rodriguez added.
According to SKDK’s website, it also has done work for several New Mexico politicians.
Its chief creative director previously worked on a campaign for U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico. The firm also worked on a few New Mexico House campaigns in 2020, on behalf of the Environmental Defense Fund. That same year, it worked for then-state Rep. Melanie Stansbury, a Democrat who is now in Congress, and state Sen. Katy Duhigg, D-Albuquerque.
Ties to Epstein survivors
The PR firm acts as the “primary communications intermediary” between the Justice Department and media, the May contract states, as well as “proactively” identifying and pursuing “earned media opportunities that advance the state’s narrative of accountability and survivor support.”
The firm also said it would “develop a crisis communications protocol” for the agency, according to the contract.
The Justice Department justified the lack of competitive bidding for the contract in a document filed in March with the State Purchasing Division, saying SKDK was the only public relations firm that had relationships with Epstein survivors, which was necessary for the work.
The firm would “leverage its existing relationships within the Epstein and Maxwell survivor community to ... facilitate introductions between identified survivors and the NMDOJ,” as well as conduct survivor outreach and provide guidance to the Justice Department, states the sole-source request form.
Among SKDK’s staff is Managing Director Kendra Barkoff Lamy, a onetime spokesperson for then-Vice President Joe Biden. She states in her website bio she has “supported numerous survivors of Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein.”
Both contracts with SKDK have been funded through the department’s budget for professional services, Rodriguez said.
With gross receipts taxes and expenses added, the current contract could total as much as $389,880, according to the contract.
The first contract, $30,000 per month for two months, was narrowly focused on communication about a search of Zorro Ranch.
The Department of Justice announced it was searching the ranch March 9. By March 11, the agency and SKDK had signed a contract for $60,000.
The contract included developing a “comprehensive media strategy” related to the search. However, the agency routinely declined The New Mexican’s requests for comment on the search during that period, citing the ongoing investigation.
The contract also included preparing “press lists of national reporters covering Epstein-related matters” and pitching national interviews with the attorney general when appropriate.
The overall purpose of the initial contract was to “provide time sensitive, rapid response communications support, appropriately and effectively inform the public about the Agency’s investigation of Zorro Ranch,” according to a description on the Sunshine Portal, under the SKDK parent company Stagwell Global LLC.
No sole-source justification form for the two-month contract could be located, and the agency did not immediately disclose the procurement process.
The more recent contract, signed May 7 by the agency and SKDK and approved May 11 by the state General Services Department, added survivor outreach to the firm’s responsibilities.
The rate is $30,000 per month for one year, according to the contract.
Sole-source justification
The Justice Department on March 27 filed the sole-source determination form as required by state law, seeking to award SKDK $360,000 in a no-bid contract, and explaining why it determined no other companies would qualify.
To perform its due diligence, the agency said in the form, it conducted an online search for “media consulting firms specializing in working with victims of sexual assault.”
“The results primarily included victim‑service organizations and general crisis‑communication firms, none of which offered the combination of trauma‑informed survivor engagement, matter‑specific expertise, and media strategy required for this contract,” the document states.
“While the agency reviewed multiple search results, none reflected services comparable to those provided by SKDK.”
Rodriguez said there was another part of due diligence that isn’t reflected in the form: “Their qualifications were independently verified ... through reference checks with national litigation firms that have secured judgments and settlements related to Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal misconduct.”
Joe Vigil, a spokesperson for the General Services Department, which oversees the State Purchasing Division, said the purchasing agency receives sole-source requests related to professional services but doesn’t have a role in providing due diligence.
“It is up to the requesting agency to do their due diligence in determining if the vendor is the only vendor that could provide this service or justify as to why this vendor has unique expertise or if this is continuation of existing service,” Vigil said.