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Ex-President Donald Trump has consistently expressed his wish 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 standing and credibility," the president wrote recently in a social media message.

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

Both have subsequently been charged, in situations that numerous specialists have stated seem to be driven by politics and challenging to win in legal proceedings.

But the most recent charges against a presidential opponent, ex security advisor John Bolton, differ significantly, legal experts and former prosecutors say.

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

This Details of the Case

Bolton has been criminally indicted on federal charges related to the supposed mishandling of sensitive materials. After leaving the White House in 2019, he has become a outspoken Trump critic, even to describe him "remarkably ignorant" and unsuitable for the presidency in his memoir.

Specialists say that while there may be political reasons to go after Bolton, the procedures used to obtain an charge and the proof compiled against him indicate a potentially more substantial legal argument than the DOJ brought against James.

"These actions that's being alleged is simultaneously more severe and appears to have taken place over a considerable duration," said Carissa Byrne Hessick, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Throughout his tenure as Trump's security advisor, and after his 2019 White House exit, authorities claimed that Bolton placed the nation at risk by wrongfully keeping and sending sensitive documents to family members using insecure means, including AOL. Several of the documents were marked top secret.

The indictment states that at one point a hacker gained access to Bolton's account where files 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 hearing on Friday to eighteen separate counts of mishandling sensitive materials.

Political Motivation or a Strong Case?

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

Trump previously suggested Bolton belonged in prison, and described him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his role, authored a publication about his time in the Trump administration that was sharply negative of the president.

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

However, he continued, "should the Justice Department is able to prove the allegations alleged and show the material is correctly classified, his behavior may certainly have broken the statute".

Prosecuting such a high-ranking figure for improperly handling sensitive materials is "uncommon" but not without precedent, said Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"Cases that concern classified information present difficulties to try, but they may and are filed against both low-level and high-level personnel, from occasionally," she said.

Similarities to Investigations into Former President and Biden

Trump similarly encountered allegations of improperly storing classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and obstructing their recovery, but that matter was eventually thrown out by a federal judge and negated by his re-election as leader.

A independent investigator also determined that former President Joe Biden wrongfully maintained sensitive materials from his period as vice president, but did not criminally charge him.

Bolton's situation shares characteristics to Biden's sensitive materials matters, noted Mr Lesko, who previously held a top national security role at the DOJ.

Strict protocols regulate the handling of sensitive materials. To win a guilty verdict, the government must demonstrate that Bolton was aware the material he was sending was restricted, and he had to intentionally transmit it to someone not entitled to obtain it.

"Due to the classified character of the material at issue in this matter, we lack a great deal of details about the reasons the prosecution contends elements like the diary entries and the additional information he shared by email, and the reason there were restricted," said Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Traditional Prosecution

The procedure by which the Justice Department initiated this legal action will be closely examined, following Trump openly posted his desire to see his political opponents prosecuted and several of those charges came to fruition.

But Mr Lesko said in Bolton's situation, prosecutors seem to have followed protocol.

"This Bolton case and eventually the charge seemed to have followed the regular process including the regulations and standards within the DOJ," he stated.

In contrast to Comey's brief, concise charge, Bolton's was a more "traditional" filing that "explicitly outlines the details involving the facts and situation in this instance," Mr Lesko commented.

"It appears reasonably aligned with a series of precedents... where government officials mishandled and transmitted classified material."