THREAD: 1 of 6. Trump’s comparison of his case with Bill Clinton’s sock drawer is not only incorrect, it is nonsensical. Here’s why.

The Presidential Records Act says presidential records belong to the government, not the individual who served as president. …

2. Presidential records in general are those made by or for the president for use in official business. The statute contains detailed definitions of what is and is not a presidential record. …

3. Bill Clinton’s recordings were from his own interviews, qualifying as diaries, which the Presidential Records Act says are not presidential records. No law precluded Clinton from keeping them. …

4. Trump is charged not with violating the Presidential Records Act, but instead with violating the Espionage Act. The records Trump is alleged to have illegally retained are agency records, such as records of the CIA, NSA, and Department of Defense, not presidential records. …

5. Moreover, these records are covered by the Espionage Act because of their content—information about the national defense, which could be used to the injury of the United States or advantage of a foreign nation—US nuclear program, military capabilities of US & allies, etc. 😱…