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Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly shown his wish to see critics probed, exerting influence on the DOJ to charge former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We cannot postpone further, it's killing our reputation and trustworthiness," the leader wrote recently in a Truth Social message.

"I was impeached twice, and charged me (5 times!)" he declared, referencing the multiple legal proceedings he encountered after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

Each have since been indicted, in cases that numerous specialists have said seem to be driven by politics and difficult to succeed in court.

But the most recent allegations against a presidential opponent, ex national security adviser John Bolton, stand apart, legal experts and ex-prosecutors assert.

"In my opinion, contrasting Bolton's charges to James' is like comparing apples to oranges," stated Mark Lesko, a ex acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

The Details of the Case

Bolton has been criminally indicted on federal charges related to the alleged improper handling of classified information. After departing the White House in 2019, he has become a vocal Trump critic, even to describe him "remarkably ignorant" and unsuitable for the presidency in his book.

Specialists contend that while there may be political reasons to go after Bolton, the methods used to secure an indictment and the evidence compiled against him suggest a possibly more substantial case than the DOJ brought against Comey.

"This misconduct that's being claimed is simultaneously more severe and appears to have taken place over a significant period of time," commented Carissa Byrne Hessick, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

During his tenure as Trump's national security adviser, and following his 2019 White House exit, authorities alleged that Bolton placed the nation at danger by improperly retaining and transmitting classified information to family members using insecure means, including AOL. Some of the materials were labeled top secret.

The charge alleges that at one point a hacker gained access to Bolton's system where documents were stored and sent an seeming threat to cause "the biggest controversy since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a hearing on recently to 18 separate charges of mishandling classified information.

Political Motivation or a Substantial Case?

The timing of his charge - coming on the tails of charges against Comey - has revived questions about political pressure on the legal system.

Trump previously implied Bolton belonged in jail, and called him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his role, authored a publication about his experience in the Trump administration that was sharply negative of the president.

"There's no question that the schedule of this indictment, when combined with additional cases, has prompted doubts about the validity of these charges, and the reason these counts are being brought now," stated Jamil Jaffer, creator and director of the National Security Institute.

Nevertheless, he continued, "should the DOJ is capable to demonstrate the facts alleged and demonstrate the material is properly designated, his behavior may very well have violated the law".

Prosecuting such a high-ranking figure for mishandling sensitive materials is "uncommon" but not unprecedented, noted Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"Cases that concern sensitive materials pose difficulties to prosecute, but they may and are brought against both junior and high-level officials, from time to time," she explained.

Parallels to Investigations into Former President and President

Trump similarly encountered allegations of wrongfully keeping sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and hindering their recovery, but that matter was eventually dismissed by a federal judge and negated by his return as president.

A independent investigator additionally determined that ex-President Joe Biden improperly maintained classified documents from his time as second-in-command, but did not prosecute him.

Bolton's situation shares characteristics to Trump's classified documents matters, noted Mr Lesko, who previously held a top security role at the Justice Department.

Rigorous procedures govern the handling of classified documents. To secure a conviction, the government must prove that Bolton was aware the material he was sending was restricted, and he had to knowingly transmit it to someone not entitled to receive it.

"Due to the classified character of the material at question in this case, we don't have a great deal of details about the reasons the prosecution believes things like the diary entries and the additional information he communicated by email, and why there were restricted," said Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Traditional Prosecution

The procedure by which the Justice Department brought this legal action will be closely examined, after Trump publicly posted his wish to see his political opponents charged and several of those charges came to fruition.

But Mr Lesko indicated in Bolton's case, prosecutors seem to have adhered to protocol.

"The Bolton prosecution and ultimately the indictment seemed to have observed the standard process including the rules and norms within the DOJ," he stated.

Unlike Comey's brief, two-page charge, Bolton's was a more "traditional" filing that "explicitly outlines the particulars involving the facts and circumstances in this instance," Mr Lesko said.

"It seems fairly aligned with a series of precedents... where government officials mishandled and transmitted classified material."