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

"We can't delay any longer, it's damaging our standing and credibility," the president stated last month in a social media message.

"They impeached twice, and indicted me (five times!)" he said, referencing the four criminal cases he encountered after departing the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

Both have subsequently been charged, in situations that many specialists have stated appear to be politically motivated and challenging to win in court.

But the most recent charges against a Trump critic, former national security adviser John Bolton, stand apart, legal specialists and former prosecutors assert.

"I would say, comparing 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.

The Details of Bolton's Case

Bolton has been formally charged on national allegations pertaining to the alleged improper handling of classified information. Since departing the White House in 2019, he has become a outspoken presidential opponent, going so far as to describe him "remarkably ignorant" and unsuitable for the presidency in his memoir.

Specialists contend that while there may be political reasons to go after Bolton, the methods used to obtain an indictment and the proof compiled against him indicate a possibly stronger legal argument than the DOJ presented against James.

"These actions that's being claimed is simultaneously more serious and seems to have occurred over a significant duration," commented 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 alleged that Bolton placed the nation at risk by improperly keeping and transmitting classified information to family members using unprotected methods, including AOL. Some of the documents were labeled highly classified.

The charge alleges that at one point a unauthorized user gained access to Bolton's account where documents were stored and transmitted an apparent warning to cause "the biggest controversy since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were released".

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

Political Motivation or a Strong Legal Argument?

The schedule of his charge - arriving on the heels of charges against Comey - has renewed questions about political pressure on the justice system.

Trump previously suggested Bolton should be in prison, and called him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his part, authored a book about his time in the Trump administration that was sharply negative of the leader.

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

Nevertheless, he added, "if the Justice Department is capable to prove the facts alleged and demonstrate the information is properly classified, his behavior may certainly have broken the law".

Charging such a senior official for mishandling classified documents is "uncommon" but not without precedent, noted Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"Cases that involve sensitive materials present difficulties to try, but they may and are brought against both low-level and high-level personnel, from time to time," she explained.

Similarities to Investigations into Trump and Biden

Trump similarly encountered allegations of improperly storing sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and hindering their return, but that case was ultimately dismissed by a federal judge and negated by his return as president.

A independent investigator additionally found that ex-President Joe Biden improperly maintained sensitive materials from his time as vice president, but failed to criminally charge him.

Bolton's situation bears similarities to Biden's classified documents matters, noted Mr Lesko, who previously held a senior national security position at the Justice Department.

Rigorous procedures govern the handling of sensitive materials. To win a conviction, the government must demonstrate that Bolton was aware the material he was transmitting was classified, and he had to intentionally transfer it to someone without authorization to receive it.

"Due to the classified character of the information at question in this case, we lack a lot of details about why the government believes things like the diary entries and the additional information he communicated by electronic message, and why there were classified," said Mr Jaffer.

A More Traditional Prosecution

The process by which the DOJ brought this legal action will be closely examined, after Trump openly posted his desire to see his political opponents charged and some of those charges materialized.

But Mr Lesko indicated in Bolton's situation, prosecutors appear to have followed protocol.

"This Bolton prosecution and ultimately the indictment appeared to have followed the standard procedure including the regulations and standards within the Department of Justice," he stated.

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

"It seems fairly aligned with a long line of cases... where government officials improperly handled and transmitted classified material."