The U.S. Attorney's Office filed a motion asking the judge to let them cherry-pick portions of the 2015 recorded interview with Chapo, included in Penn's Rolling Stone article. The prosecutors aren't giving away which parts they want to use just yet, but they are crystal clear about what they want excluded from the trial.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, they say the parts where Chapo talks about his upbringing, and his family relationship should not be admitted in the trial. Prosecutors say it could evoke sympathy for the accused murderer.

The feds also think Chapo made several false statements in the video which they want excluded, such as denying he was part of a cartel ... or claiming he never initiated any violence.

As for the Rolling Stone article itself -- they want all of that excluded as evidence because they say it's filled with prejudicial statements ... such as Penn calling Chapo a "Robin Hood-like figure" and the true "president of Mexico."