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Ex-President Donald Trump has repeatedly shown his desire to see opponents probed, exerting influence 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 killing our standing and credibility," the leader stated last month in a Truth Social message.

"I was impeached twice, and indicted me (5 times!)" he said, mentioning the multiple legal proceedings he encountered after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

Both have subsequently been charged, in situations that numerous experts have said appear to be driven by politics and challenging to win in legal proceedings.

But the most recent allegations against a presidential opponent, ex national security adviser John Bolton, stand apart, legal experts and ex-prosecutors say.

"In my opinion, contrasting Bolton's case to James' is like equating two different things," said Mark Lesko, a former federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York.

The Details of the Case

Bolton has been criminally indicted on federal charges related to the alleged mishandling of sensitive materials. After leaving the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a vocal Trump critic, going so far as to call him "remarkably ignorant" and unsuitable for office in his book.

Experts contend that while there may be political motivations to target Bolton, the procedures used to obtain an charge and the proof gathered against him indicate a possibly stronger case than the DOJ brought against James.

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

Throughout his tenure as Trump's security advisor, and following his 2019 White House exit, authorities alleged that Bolton put the nation at risk by wrongfully keeping and transmitting classified information to family members using insecure means, including AOL. Several of the documents were marked highly classified.

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

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a court appearance on Friday to eighteen distinct counts of improperly handling sensitive materials.

Retribution or a Strong Legal Argument?

The timing of his indictment - coming on the tails of allegations against Comey - has revived concerns about external influence on the justice system.

Trump previously suggested Bolton belonged in prison, and described him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his part, wrote a book about his time in the Trump government that was sharply negative of the leader.

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

However, he continued, "should the Justice Department is capable to prove the allegations alleged and demonstrate the information is properly classified, his conduct may very well have broken the law".

Charging such a high-ranking official for mishandling classified documents is "rare" but not unprecedented, noted Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"Situations that concern sensitive materials present difficulties to prosecute, but they may and are brought against both low-level and high-level officials, from time to time," she explained.

Similarities to Investigations into Trump and Biden

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

A special counsel additionally determined that ex-President Joe Biden wrongfully maintained sensitive materials from his period as second-in-command, but failed to criminally charge him.

Bolton's case shares characteristics to Biden's sensitive materials issues, noted Mr Lesko, who also held a top national security role at the Justice Department.

Rigorous procedures regulate the management of classified documents. To win a guilty verdict, the government must prove that Bolton was aware the material he was sending was restricted, and he had to intentionally transmit it to someone not entitled to receive it.

"Because of the classified character of the information at issue in this matter, we don't have a great deal of particulars about why the government believes elements like the diary entries and the additional material he communicated by electronic message, and why there were classified," explained Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Conventional Legal Action

The procedure by which the DOJ initiated this case will be closely examined, following Trump openly posted his wish to see his critics charged and several of those charges materialized.

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

"This Bolton case and eventually the charge appeared to have followed the regular procedure including the regulations and norms within the Department of Justice," he stated.

In contrast to Comey's short, two-page charge, Bolton's was a increasingly "conventional" filing that "explicitly sets forth the particulars involving the facts and circumstances in this instance," Mr Lesko said.

"It seems fairly aligned with a series of cases... where public servants mishandled and transmitted classified material."