If it is okay for him to tell reporters that the data is publically accessible, knowing that they would verify that by downloading it, how is it dangerous or ma

If it is okay for him to tell reporters that the data is publically accessible, knowing that they would verify that by downloading it, how is it dangerous or malicious for him to send examples to them directly? The outcomes are the same at worst and at best the reporters have considerably less of the data. There's a legal distinction there, not a moral one.