Sean Penn might’ve met with famed Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman in the fall for a Rolling Stone interview without notifying the proper authorities looking for the escaped convict but his actions, while dick-ish, were not illegal.
A Stanford Law professor told the LA Times that to allege Penn was an accessory after the fact, lawyers would have to prove that the actor did more than just talk with Guzman for a magazine interview. For example, if he spoke with El Chapo about how to elude capture, that’d work. But a guy like El Chapo—who broke out of a maximum security prison through a tunnel opening up in his cell’s shower—is probably well-stocked with escapist knowledge.
Elsewhere, Penn spoke to an Associated Press reporter, saying he had “nothin’ to hide” from the government regarding his interview with the drug lord. But when the AP commented that Penn had made many other journalists jealous with his access, Penn replied “True dat.” Help.