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

"We cannot postpone any longer, it's damaging our standing and trustworthiness," the president wrote recently in a social media post.

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

Both have subsequently been charged, in cases that many specialists have stated appear to be driven by politics and difficult to win in legal proceedings.

But the most recent charges against a presidential opponent, ex national security adviser John Bolton, differ significantly, legal specialists and ex-prosecutors assert.

"In my opinion, comparing Bolton's case to James' is like equating two different things," said Mark Lesko, a ex acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

The Specifics of Bolton's Legal Situation

Bolton has been criminally indicted on national allegations pertaining to the supposed improper handling of sensitive materials. Since leaving the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a outspoken presidential opponent, even to call him "stunningly uninformed" and unfit for the presidency in his memoir.

Experts say that while there may be political reasons to go after Bolton, the methods used to secure an charge and the proof compiled against him indicate a possibly stronger case than the DOJ brought against James.

"These actions that's being alleged is both more serious and seems to have occurred over a considerable duration," commented Carissa Byrne Hessick, a academic at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Throughout his tenure as Trump's security advisor, and following his 2019 White House departure, authorities claimed that Bolton placed the nation at danger by improperly keeping and sending classified information to family members using unprotected methods, including AOL. Several of the documents were labeled highly classified.

The indictment states that at a certain time a hacker accessed to Bolton's system where files were stored and sent 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 Friday to 18 distinct counts of mishandling sensitive materials.

Retribution or a Substantial Case?

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

Trump previously suggested Bolton should be in jail, and called him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his part, wrote a book about his time in the Trump government that was highly critical of the leader.

"There's no question that the timing of this charge, when combined with additional cases, has prompted doubts about the strength of these charges, and why these charges are being brought now," stated Jamil Jaffer, creator and executive director of the National Security Institute.

However, he added, "if the Justice Department is capable to prove the facts alleged and show the information is correctly designated, his behavior may certainly have broken the statute".

Prosecuting 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.

"Cases that concern sensitive materials present challenges to prosecute, but they can and are filed against both low-level and senior personnel, from time to time," she explained.

Parallels to Examinations into Trump and President

Trump likewise faced charges of improperly storing classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and hindering their return, but that matter was ultimately thrown out by a court official and negated by his return as leader.

A special counsel additionally determined that former President Joe Biden improperly stored classified documents from his time as vice president, but did not criminally charge him.

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

Rigorous procedures govern the handling of classified documents. To secure a guilty verdict, the prosecution must demonstrate that Bolton was aware the material he was sending was classified, and he had to knowingly transmit it to someone without authorization to obtain it.

"Due to the classified character of the information at question in this case, we don't have a great deal of particulars about why the prosecution believes elements like the diary entries and the additional information he shared by electronic message, and why there were restricted," explained Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Traditional Legal Action

The process by which the DOJ initiated this case will be under scrutiny, after Trump openly posted his desire to see his critics prosecuted and several of those charges came to fruition.

But Mr Lesko said in Bolton's case, authorities appear to have followed protocol.

"The Bolton case and eventually the indictment appeared to have observed the regular procedure including the rules and standards within the DOJ," he stated.

Unlike Comey's brief, two-page charge, Bolton's was a increasingly "traditional" document that "clearly outlines the details concerning the circumstances and situation in this instance," Mr Lesko commented.

"It appears reasonably consistent with a long line of precedents... where government officials mishandled and transmitted sensitive information."