Trump says he should be 'exonerated' on documents charges

Former President Donald Trump said on the day of his arraignment that he should be "exonerated" on charges he mishandled classified documents and tried to cover it up, because the grand jury in the case was not told about the provisions of the Presidential Records Act and a case in which Clinton kept tapes of presidential records in his sock drawer.

"THE GRAND JURY WAS NEVER TOLD ABOUT THE PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS ACT OR THE CLINTON SOCKS CASE, BOTH EXONERATING!" Trump posted on Truth Social.

Trump has argued that the Presidential Records Act protects his right to declassify information and take records from the White House if he deems them useful to him.

The National Archives has disagreed with Trump's interpretation of the law.

The Clinton case came about when Taylor Branch revealed in a book in 2009 that he and Bill Clinton made numerous recordings of interviews during his presidency, and that Clinton kept the tapes in his sock drawer. When Judicial Watch sued to get access to the tapes, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled against Judicial Watch saying the Presidential Records Act does not allow the National Archives to seize presidential records.

It remains to be seen whether those rulings and laws will apply to Trump's case. If it was that cut and dried, it's unlikely that a case would ever have been brought against Trump in the first place.