Mexican president defends disclosing a reporter’s phone number, saying the law doesn’t apply to him

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president is defending his decision to disclose a reporter’s telephone number, saying a law that prohibits officials from releasing personal information doesn’t apply to him. Press freedom groups say the decision to make public the phone number of a New York Times reporter was an attempt to punish critical reporting, and exposed the reporter to potential danger. Mexico is one of the deadliest places in the world for reporters outside of war zones. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador also downplayed the risk to journalists, saying it was “an old song that you use to discredit our government.”