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

"We can't delay any longer, it's killing our reputation and trustworthiness," the leader wrote last month in a Truth Social message.

"They impeached twice, and charged me (5 times!)" he said, mentioning the multiple legal proceedings he encountered after departing the White House in 2021 and James's lawsuit.

Each have since been indicted, in situations that many specialists have stated appear to be driven by politics and challenging to win in court.

But the most recent charges against a presidential opponent, former security advisor John Bolton, stand apart, legal specialists and former prosecutors say.

"I would say, comparing Bolton's charges to Comey's is like equating apples to oranges," stated Mark Lesko, a former acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

This Specifics of the Legal Situation

Bolton has been criminally indicted on national allegations related to the supposed mishandling of classified information. After leaving the White House in 2019, he has become a vocal presidential opponent, even to describe him "remarkably ignorant" and unfit for the presidency in his book.

Experts contend that while there may be political reasons to target Bolton, the procedures used to secure an charge and the proof gathered against him suggest a possibly more substantial legal argument than the DOJ brought against Comey.

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

During his tenure as Trump's security advisor, and after his 2019 White House departure, authorities claimed that Bolton placed the country at risk by improperly keeping and sending sensitive documents to family members using unprotected methods, including AOL. Some of the materials were labeled highly classified.

The indictment alleges that at a certain time a hacker gained access to Bolton's system where files were stored and transmitted an seeming warning to cause "the largest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were released".

Bolton entered a not guilty plea during a court appearance on recently to eighteen distinct counts of mishandling classified information.

Political Motivation or a Strong Legal Argument?

The schedule of his indictment - coming on the heels of allegations against Comey - has revived concerns about political pressure on the legal system.

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

"Undoubtedly that the timing of this indictment, when combined with others, has prompted questions about the strength of these allegations, and why these counts are being filed at this time," stated Jamil Jaffer, founder and director of the National Security Institute.

However, he added, "should the Justice Department is capable to prove the facts alleged and demonstrate the information is properly designated, his behavior may certainly have violated the statute".

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

"Situations that concern classified information present challenges to try, but they may and are filed against both low-level and senior personnel, from occasionally," she explained.

Parallels to Examinations into Former President and President

Trump likewise encountered charges of wrongfully storing sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and obstructing their recovery, but that case was eventually thrown out by a court official and negated by his return as leader.

A independent investigator additionally determined that former President Joe Biden improperly maintained classified documents from his time as vice president, but failed to criminally charge him.

Bolton's case shares characteristics to Trump's sensitive materials matters, noted Mr Lesko, who previously held a senior national security position at the DOJ.

Strict procedures regulate the management of classified documents. To secure a guilty verdict, the prosecution must prove that Bolton was aware the material he was sending was classified, and he had to intentionally transmit it to someone not entitled to obtain it.

"Due to the classified character of the information at issue in this case, we lack a great deal of details about the reasons the prosecution believes elements like the diary entries and the additional material he shared by electronic message, and why there were classified," explained Mr Jaffer.

A More Conventional Legal Action

The procedure by which the Justice Department brought this legal action will be under scrutiny, following Trump openly posted his wish to see his critics charged and some of those indictments came to fruition.

But Mr Lesko indicated in Bolton's case, authorities appear to have adhered to protocol.

"This Bolton case and eventually the indictment seemed to have observed the standard procedure including the regulations and norms within the Department of Justice," he stated.

Unlike Comey's short, two-page indictment, Bolton's was a increasingly "conventional" document that "clearly outlines the details concerning the facts and situation in this instance," Mr Lesko commented.

"It seems reasonably consistent with a series of precedents... where public servants mishandled and transmitted classified material."