Reporter and Fox News correspondent Geraldo Rivera said that he would have done an interview with notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, adding that he thought actor Sean Penn was simply trying to get a "huge exclusive" when he began conducting interviews with Guzman for Rolling Stone last year.
Guzmán is a Mexican crime boss who escaped from prison last year, and was wanted by authorities at the time of the interviews.
In Tweets posted over the weekend, and during an appearance on Fox & Friends Monday, Geraldo offered a vigorous defense of Penn, praising him for going after what Rivera viewed as "a huge scoop."
Penn has a history of getting chummy with some of the most vile power players in Latin America, including Former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Cuban President Raul Castro. Since meeting with evil murderers and pretending to be a journalist seems to be the actor's hobby, it should be no surprise that he wanted the "El Chapo" exclusive -- despite the fact that Guzmán was a wanted man in both Mexico and the United States at the time of the interview. The crime boss has since been recaptured.
Rivera's praise for Penn's actions raise various questions concerning how media should deal with incredibly evil individuals who are wanted by various governments for heinous acts. It also raises questions as to who qualifies as an actual "journalist."
Penn may mean well, but considering how dictators like Chavez and Castro have highlighted his friendship in their anti-American propaganda in the past, one has to wonder if Penn's actions pose a more serious threat than Rivera seems to believe.