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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 cannot postpone any longer, it's damaging our reputation and trustworthiness," the president wrote recently in a Truth Social message.

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

Each have subsequently been charged, in situations that numerous specialists have said appear to be driven by politics and challenging to succeed in legal proceedings.

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

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

This Details of Bolton's Legal Situation

Bolton has been formally charged on national allegations pertaining to the supposed mishandling of classified information. Since leaving the White House in 2019, he has become a outspoken Trump critic, even to call him "stunningly uninformed" and unsuitable for the presidency in his book.

Experts contend that while there may be political reasons to target Bolton, the methods used to obtain an indictment and the proof gathered against him indicate a potentially stronger case than the Justice Department brought against James.

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

During his tenure as Trump's national security adviser, and following his 2019 White House exit, authorities alleged that Bolton placed the country at risk by improperly keeping and sending classified information to family members using unprotected methods, including AOL. Several of the materials were marked highly classified.

The charge states that at one point a hacker accessed to Bolton's system where files were stored and sent an seeming threat to cause "the biggest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were released".

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

Retribution or a Strong Case?

The schedule of his indictment - coming on the tails of allegations against James - has revived questions about political pressure on the legal system.

Trump previously implied Bolton belonged in prison, and called him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his role, wrote a book about his experience in the Trump government that was sharply negative of the president.

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

However, he added, "if the DOJ is capable to demonstrate the facts stated and show the information is correctly designated, his behavior may very well have violated the statute".

Prosecuting such a senior figure for improperly handling classified documents is "rare" but not without precedent, noted Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"Cases that involve classified information present difficulties to prosecute, but they can and are filed against both low-level and high-level personnel, from time to time," she explained.

Parallels to Examinations into Trump and President

Trump likewise faced charges of wrongfully storing sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and obstructing their recovery, but that case was ultimately dismissed by a federal judge and negated by his re-election as leader.

A independent investigator also determined that former President Joe Biden wrongfully stored classified documents from his period as second-in-command, but failed to criminally charge him.

Bolton's case shares characteristics to Trump's classified documents issues, noted Mr Lesko, who previously held a top national security position at the Justice Department.

Rigorous protocols regulate the handling of classified documents. To win a conviction, the prosecution must prove that Bolton knew the material he was transmitting was classified, and he had to intentionally transfer it to someone without authorization to obtain it.

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

A More Traditional Prosecution

The procedure by which the Justice Department brought this case will be under scrutiny, following Trump openly expressed his wish to see his political opponents prosecuted and some of those indictments came to fruition.

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

"This Bolton prosecution and eventually the indictment appeared to have followed the regular procedure including the rules and norms within the DOJ," he said.

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

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