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Ex-President Donald Trump has consistently shown his desire to see critics investigated, applying pressure on the DOJ to charge former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We can't delay further, it's damaging our standing and credibility," the president stated recently in a Truth Social post.

"I was impeached me, and indicted me (5 times!)" he declared, mentioning the multiple legal proceedings he faced after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's lawsuit.

Both have since been indicted, in cases that many specialists have stated seem to be politically motivated and difficult to succeed in court.

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

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

The Specifics of the Case

Bolton has been formally charged on national allegations pertaining to the supposed mishandling of sensitive materials. After departing the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a vocal presidential opponent, even to describe him "remarkably ignorant" and unfit for the presidency in his memoir.

Specialists contend that while there may be political reasons to target Bolton, the procedures used to secure an charge and the proof compiled against him indicate a possibly stronger case than the Justice Department presented against James.

"This misconduct that's being claimed is both more severe and seems to have taken place over a considerable duration," said Carissa Byrne Hessick, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Throughout his time as Trump's security advisor, and after his 2019 White House departure, prosecutors claimed that Bolton placed the nation at danger by wrongfully keeping and transmitting classified information to family members using unprotected methods, including AOL. Several of the documents were labeled top secret.

The indictment states that at a certain time a unauthorized user gained access to Bolton's system where documents were kept and sent an apparent warning to cause "the largest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a court appearance on Friday to 18 separate charges of mishandling sensitive materials.

Political Motivation or a Strong Case?

The schedule of his indictment - arriving on the heels of allegations against James - has renewed concerns about political pressure on the justice system.

Trump once suggested Bolton should be in prison, and described him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his part, authored a publication about his time in the Trump administration that was sharply negative of the president.

"Undoubtedly that the schedule of this indictment, when combined with additional cases, has raised questions about the strength of these allegations, and the reason these charges are being filed now," said Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director of the National Security Institute.

However, he added, "if the Justice Department is able to prove the allegations stated and demonstrate the material is correctly classified, his conduct may very well have violated the statute".

Charging such a high-ranking figure for improperly handling classified documents is "uncommon" but not unprecedented, said Carrie Cordero, a expert at the Center for a New American Security.

"Situations that involve sensitive materials pose challenges to try, but they can and are filed against equally junior and senior personnel, from time to time," she said.

Similarities to Investigations into Former President and President

Trump likewise encountered allegations of wrongfully keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and obstructing their return, but that case was ultimately thrown out by a court official and voided by his re-election as president.

A independent investigator additionally determined that former President Joe Biden wrongfully maintained sensitive materials from his period as vice president, but did not prosecute him.

Bolton's situation shares characteristics to Biden's classified documents matters, noted Mr Lesko, who also held a senior security position at the Justice Department.

Strict procedures govern the management of sensitive materials. To win a conviction, the government must prove that Bolton was aware the information he was transmitting was restricted, and he had to knowingly transfer it to someone without authorization to receive it.

"Due to the classified character of the information at question in this matter, we lack a lot of particulars about why the prosecution contends elements like the personal notes and the other information he shared by electronic message, and why there were classified," explained Mr Jaffer.

A More Conventional Legal Action

The procedure by which the Justice Department initiated this legal action will be closely examined, after Trump openly expressed his wish to see his political opponents prosecuted and some of those charges came to fruition.

But Mr Lesko said in Bolton's case, prosecutors appear to have adhered to protocol.

"This Bolton prosecution and eventually the charge seemed to have observed the regular procedure including the rules and norms within the DOJ," he stated.

Unlike Comey's short, concise charge, Bolton's was a increasingly "conventional" document that "explicitly sets forth the details concerning the facts and situation in this instance," Mr Lesko commented.

"It appears reasonably consistent with a long line of precedents... where public servants mishandled and transmitted classified material."