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Mexican Authorities Want To Question Sean Penn About His Meeting With El Chapo

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Following Sean Penn's secret interview with El Chapo that was published in Rolling Stone, Mexican authorities say they want to question the actor about his meeting with the recently recaptured drug kingpin.A Mexican law enforcement official told NBC News they would like to speak with Penn and actress Kate del Castillo, and that investigators were tipped off to El Chapo's location through intercepting phone calls between Penn, Del Castillo, and El Chapo himself. Now, authorities want to know more about the location of Penn's meeting. According to CNN, a Mexican official said Penn's meeting with El Chapo was arranged by del Castillo.

The White House also spoke on the issue of the interview, reports the L.A. Times. On ABC's Sunday morning talk show The Week, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough said that he would not get involved in the ethics or legality of Penn's interview, and that he would "let somebody else sort out what Sean Penn did and didn't do."

While the Department of Justice did not officially comment, an unnamed U.S. law enforcement official said the Department considers the Rolling Stone interview "a sideshow."

In case you were wondering what Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio had to say about Penn's interview, he also appeared on The Week, and threw some shade. "Sean Penn is not someone I spend a lot of time thinking about," said Rubio. "I didn't even know he was still around. I think he made movies a long time ago or something."

We bet Penn cares a great deal about Rubio's #hottake.

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