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Ex-President Donald Trump has repeatedly shown his wish to see critics investigated, exerting pressure on the DOJ to charge ex FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We can't delay further, it's killing our reputation and credibility," the leader stated recently in a social media post.

"They impeached twice, and charged me (five times!)" he declared, mentioning the multiple legal proceedings he faced after departing the White House in 2021 and James's lawsuit.

Each have subsequently been indicted, in cases that many specialists have said seem to be politically motivated and challenging to win in court.

But the latest charges against a presidential opponent, ex security advisor John Bolton, stand apart, legal experts and former prosecutors assert.

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

This Specifics of Bolton's Legal Situation

Bolton has been formally charged on national allegations pertaining to the supposed improper handling of sensitive materials. After leaving the White House in 2019, he has become a vocal presidential opponent, even to call him "stunningly uninformed" and unfit for the presidency in his book.

Specialists contend that while there may be political motivations to go after Bolton, the procedures used to obtain an indictment and the proof gathered against him suggest a potentially stronger legal argument than the DOJ brought against James.

"This misconduct that's being alleged is simultaneously more serious and appears to have taken place over a considerable duration," commented Carissa Byrne Hessick, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

During his tenure as Trump's security advisor, and following his 2019 White House departure, prosecutors alleged that Bolton put the nation at danger by wrongfully retaining and transmitting sensitive documents to family members using insecure means, including AOL. Some of the materials were marked top secret.

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

Bolton entered a not guilty plea during a court appearance on Friday to 18 distinct counts of mishandling classified information.

Political Motivation or a Substantial Case?

The timing of his charge - coming on the heels of charges against Comey - has renewed concerns about external influence on the justice system.

Trump previously implied Bolton belonged in jail, and described him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his role, wrote a publication about his time in the Trump government that was sharply negative of the president.

"There's no question that the timing of this charge, when paired with others, has prompted questions about the strength of these charges, and why these counts are being filed at this time," said Jamil Jaffer, founder and director of the National Security Institute.

Nevertheless, he continued, "if the Justice Department is capable to prove the allegations alleged and demonstrate the information is properly designated, his behavior may very well have violated the law".

Charging such a high-ranking figure for mishandling classified documents is "rare" but not without precedent, noted Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"Situations that involve sensitive materials present challenges to try, but they can and are filed against equally low-level and senior personnel, from time to time," she explained.

Parallels to Examinations into Trump and Biden

Trump likewise encountered allegations of improperly keeping sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and obstructing their recovery, but that case was eventually dismissed by a federal judge and voided by his return as leader.

A independent investigator additionally found that ex-President Joe Biden improperly stored sensitive materials from his time as vice president, but did not prosecute him.

Bolton's situation bears similarities to Trump's classified documents issues, noted Mr Lesko, who also held a top national security role at the DOJ.

Rigorous protocols regulate the handling of sensitive materials. To secure a conviction, the prosecution must prove that Bolton knew the information he was sending was restricted, and he had to knowingly transmit it to someone without authorization to receive it.

"Due to the sensitive nature of the material at issue in this case, we don't have a lot of particulars about why the prosecution believes elements like the diary entries and the other material he shared by electronic message, and why there were restricted," said Mr Jaffer.

A More Traditional Legal Action

The procedure by which the DOJ brought this legal action will be under scrutiny, after Trump openly expressed his wish to see his critics prosecuted and some of those indictments came to fruition.

But Mr Lesko said in Bolton's situation, prosecutors seem to have followed standard procedure.

"The Bolton prosecution and ultimately the indictment appeared to have observed the regular procedure including the rules and norms within the Department of Justice," he said.

In contrast to Comey's brief, concise charge, Bolton's was a increasingly "traditional" filing that "explicitly outlines the particulars concerning the circumstances and circumstances here," Mr Lesko commented.

"It appears reasonably consistent with a series of cases... where government officials improperly handled and transmitted classified material."