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Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his wish to see critics investigated, exerting influence on the DOJ to prosecute ex FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We cannot postpone further, it's killing our reputation and trustworthiness," the president stated last month in a Truth Social message.

"I was impeached twice, and charged me (five times!)" he declared, referencing the four criminal cases he encountered after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

Both have since been charged, in situations that numerous experts have said appear to be politically motivated and difficult to succeed in legal proceedings.

But the latest allegations against a presidential opponent, former national security adviser John Bolton, stand apart, legal experts and former prosecutors say.

"I would say, contrasting Bolton's case to James' is like comparing two different things," stated Mark Lesko, a former federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York.

This Specifics of Bolton's Case

Bolton has been criminally indicted on federal charges pertaining to the alleged improper handling of classified information. After leaving the White House in 2019, he has become a outspoken presidential opponent, even to call him "remarkably ignorant" and unfit for the presidency in his memoir.

Specialists say that while there may be political reasons to target Bolton, the methods used to obtain an charge and the proof compiled against him suggest a possibly more substantial legal argument than the DOJ presented against Comey.

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

During his tenure as Trump's national security adviser, and after his 2019 White House departure, authorities alleged that Bolton placed the nation at danger by improperly retaining and transmitting classified information to relatives using unprotected methods, including AOL. Several of the documents were marked top secret.

The charge states that at one point a hacker accessed to Bolton's account where files were stored and transmitted an seeming threat to cause "the biggest controversy since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

Bolton entered a not guilty plea during a hearing on recently to eighteen distinct charges of improperly handling sensitive materials.

Retribution or a Substantial Case?

The schedule of his charge - arriving on the tails of allegations against Comey - has renewed concerns about political pressure on the justice system.

Trump once suggested Bolton belonged in prison, and called him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his role, authored a book about his experience in the Trump administration that was sharply negative of the leader.

"Undoubtedly that the timing of this indictment, when paired with others, has prompted questions about the strength of these allegations, and why these counts are being brought now," stated Jamil Jaffer, founder and director of the National Security Institute.

However, he added, "if the DOJ is capable to prove the allegations alleged and show the information is correctly designated, his behavior may certainly have broken the law".

Charging such a high-ranking official for mishandling classified documents is "rare" but not without precedent, said Carrie Cordero, a expert at the Center for a New American Security.

"Situations that concern classified information pose challenges to prosecute, but they can and are brought against both junior and high-level personnel, from occasionally," she said.

Parallels to Investigations into Trump and President

Trump similarly faced charges of improperly storing sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and obstructing their recovery, but that matter was ultimately thrown out by a court official and negated by his re-election as leader.

A special counsel also found that ex-President Joe Biden wrongfully stored sensitive materials from his time as vice president, but did not prosecute him.

Bolton's case shares characteristics to Trump's sensitive materials issues, noted Mr Lesko, who previously held a senior national security role at the DOJ.

Strict protocols govern the handling of sensitive materials. To secure a conviction, the prosecution must demonstrate that Bolton knew the material he was sending was restricted, and he had to knowingly transmit it to someone not entitled to receive it.

"Because of the classified character of the information at issue in this matter, we lack a lot of details about the reasons the government believes things like the personal notes and the additional material he shared by electronic message, and the reason there were classified," said Mr Jaffer.

A More Traditional Prosecution

The process by which the DOJ brought this legal action will be under scrutiny, following Trump publicly posted his desire to see his political opponents prosecuted and some of those indictments materialized.

But Mr Lesko indicated in Bolton's situation, authorities appear to have adhered to protocol.

"The Bolton case and ultimately the indictment appeared to have followed the regular procedure including the regulations and norms within the Department of Justice," he said.

Unlike Comey's brief, concise indictment, Bolton's was a increasingly "conventional" document that "clearly sets forth the details involving the circumstances and circumstances here," Mr Lesko commented.

"It seems fairly consistent with a series of cases... where government officials mishandled and transmitted sensitive information."