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Ex-President Donald Trump has consistently expressed his wish to see opponents probed, 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 damaging our standing and credibility," the president wrote recently in a Truth Social message.

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

Each have since been indicted, in situations that many specialists have said appear to be politically motivated and difficult to win in legal proceedings.

But the latest allegations against a Trump critic, former security advisor John Bolton, differ significantly, legal specialists and former prosecutors assert.

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

This Details of Bolton's Case

Bolton has been criminally indicted on national allegations pertaining to the alleged improper handling 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 book.

Specialists say that while there may be political motivations to go after Bolton, the procedures used to secure an indictment and the evidence gathered against him indicate a possibly more substantial legal argument than the DOJ presented against James.

"These actions that's being claimed is simultaneously more severe 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.

During his tenure as Trump's national security adviser, and after his 2019 White House departure, prosecutors alleged that Bolton put the country at danger by wrongfully retaining and transmitting sensitive documents to relatives using unprotected methods, including AOL. Several of the documents were labeled top secret.

The indictment states that at one point a unauthorized user gained access to Bolton's system where documents were kept and sent an seeming warning to cause "the biggest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a hearing on Friday to 18 distinct charges of improperly handling classified information.

Political Motivation or a Substantial Legal Argument?

The schedule of his charge - coming on the tails of allegations against James - has revived concerns about external influence on the legal system.

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

"There's no question that the schedule of this charge, when paired with others, has raised doubts about the validity of these allegations, and the reason these charges are being brought now," stated Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director of the National Security Institute.

However, he continued, "if the Justice Department is able to prove the allegations alleged and demonstrate the material is correctly classified, his conduct may very well have broken the law".

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

"Situations that concern sensitive materials pose difficulties to prosecute, but they can and are filed against equally low-level and senior personnel, from time to time," she explained.

Similarities to Investigations into Former President and President

Trump similarly faced charges of improperly keeping 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 voided by his return as president.

A special counsel also determined that ex-President Joe Biden wrongfully maintained classified documents from his period as second-in-command, but did not criminally charge him.

Bolton's situation shares characteristics to Trump's classified documents matters, noted Mr Lesko, who also held a senior national security position at the DOJ.

Rigorous protocols regulate the handling of sensitive materials. To secure a conviction, the government must demonstrate that Bolton was aware 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 particulars about the reasons the prosecution believes elements like the personal notes and the other material he shared by email, and why there were classified," said Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Conventional Prosecution

The process by which the Justice Department brought this legal action will be closely examined, after Trump publicly posted his desire to see his political opponents charged and several of those indictments came to fruition.

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

"The Bolton prosecution and ultimately the indictment appeared to have followed the regular process including the regulations and standards within the DOJ," he said.

Unlike Comey's brief, concise indictment, Bolton's was a increasingly "conventional" document that "clearly outlines the particulars concerning the facts and circumstances in this instance," Mr Lesko commented.

"It appears fairly aligned with a series of cases... where public servants improperly handled and transmitted sensitive information."