Hero saved exposed leaders in America (7)

I believe the answer is:

theseus

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'hero' is the definition.
(hero in Greek myth)

'saved exposed leaders in america' is the wordplay.
'saved exposed leaders in' becomes 'these' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'america' becomes 'US' (United States).
'these'+'us'='THESEUS'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for theseus that I've seen before include "He slew the Minotaur" , "Slayer of the Minotaur" , "Attic hero" , "authority in the D [DREAM]" , "Mythical hero" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.

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