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

"We can't delay further, it's damaging our standing and credibility," the leader stated last month in a social media post.

"They impeached me, and charged me (five times!)" he said, mentioning the four criminal cases he encountered after departing the White House in 2021 and James's lawsuit.

Both have since been indicted, in cases that many specialists have said appear to be driven by politics and challenging to win in court.

But the latest charges against a presidential opponent, ex security advisor John Bolton, stand apart, legal specialists and ex-prosecutors say.

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

This Specifics of the Case

Bolton has been formally charged on national allegations pertaining to the alleged mishandling of classified information. Since departing the White House in 2019, he has become a vocal presidential opponent, even to describe him "remarkably ignorant" and unfit for office in his book.

Experts say that while there may be political motivations to target Bolton, the procedures used to secure an charge and the proof compiled against him suggest a potentially stronger case than the Justice Department brought against Comey.

"This misconduct that's being alleged is both more serious and appears to have occurred over a significant period of time," said Carissa Byrne Hessick, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Throughout his tenure as Trump's security advisor, and after his 2019 White House exit, authorities alleged that Bolton put the country at risk by wrongfully keeping and sending sensitive documents to family members using insecure means, including AOL. Several of the materials were marked top secret.

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

Bolton entered a not guilty plea during a hearing on recently to 18 distinct charges of mishandling sensitive materials.

Retribution or a Substantial Legal Argument?

The schedule of his charge - arriving on the tails of charges against James - has revived concerns about external influence on the justice system.

Trump once suggested Bolton belonged in jail, and called him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his part, wrote a publication about his time in the Trump government that was sharply negative of the president.

"Undoubtedly that the schedule of this indictment, when paired with additional cases, has prompted questions about the strength of these charges, and why these charges are being filed now," stated Jamil Jaffer, founder and director of the National Security Institute.

However, he added, "should the DOJ is capable to demonstrate the allegations stated and demonstrate the material is correctly classified, his conduct may certainly have violated the statute".

Prosecuting such a senior official for improperly handling sensitive materials is "uncommon" but not unprecedented, noted Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"Cases that concern classified information pose challenges to prosecute, but they may and are brought against both low-level and high-level personnel, from time to time," she explained.

Parallels to Examinations into Former President and President

Trump likewise encountered charges of wrongfully keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and hindering their recovery, but that case was ultimately dismissed by a federal judge and voided by his return as leader.

A independent investigator also found that former President Joe Biden wrongfully maintained classified documents from his period as second-in-command, but did not criminally charge him.

Bolton's case shares characteristics to Biden's classified documents matters, noted Mr Lesko, who previously held a senior security position at the DOJ.

Rigorous protocols regulate the management of sensitive materials. To win a guilty verdict, the government must prove that Bolton was aware the information he was transmitting was classified, and he had to knowingly transfer it to someone without authorization to receive it.

"Due to the sensitive character of the information at question in this matter, we lack a great deal of particulars about the reasons the government contends elements like the personal notes and the other information he shared by email, and the reason there were classified," said Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Conventional Legal Action

The procedure by which the DOJ initiated this legal action will be under scrutiny, following Trump openly expressed his wish to see his political opponents charged and some of those charges came to fruition.

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

"This Bolton prosecution and ultimately the charge appeared to have observed the standard procedure including the rules and norms within the Department of Justice," he stated.

In contrast to Comey's short, two-page indictment, Bolton's was a more "conventional" filing that "clearly outlines the particulars concerning the circumstances and circumstances here," Mr Lesko said.

"It appears reasonably aligned with a long line of cases... where government officials improperly handled and shared sensitive information."