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Ex-President Donald Trump has consistently expressed his desire to see critics investigated, applying pressure on the DOJ to prosecute former 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 social media message.

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

Both have subsequently been charged, in cases that many experts have said appear to be politically motivated and difficult to win in legal proceedings.

But the latest allegations against a Trump critic, ex security advisor John Bolton, stand apart, legal specialists and ex-prosecutors assert.

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

The Specifics of the Case

Bolton has been formally charged on federal charges pertaining to the supposed improper handling of classified information. Since departing the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a outspoken Trump critic, even to call him "stunningly uninformed" and unsuitable for the presidency in his memoir.

Specialists contend that while there may be political motivations to go after Bolton, the procedures used to obtain an charge and the proof gathered against him indicate a possibly more substantial case than the Justice Department brought against Comey.

"These actions that's being alleged is both more severe and appears to have taken place over a considerable period of time," commented Carissa Byrne Hessick, a academic at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

During his tenure as Trump's national security adviser, and following his 2019 White House departure, prosecutors claimed that Bolton put the nation at danger by wrongfully keeping and sending sensitive documents to relatives using unprotected methods, including AOL. Several of the documents were labeled highly classified.

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

Bolton entered a not guilty plea during a hearing on recently to 18 distinct counts of improperly handling classified information.

Retribution or a Substantial Legal Argument?

The timing of his indictment - arriving on the heels of charges against Comey - has revived questions about political pressure on the legal system.

Trump once suggested Bolton belonged in jail, and called him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his part, authored a publication about his experience in the Trump administration that was highly critical of the president.

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

However, he continued, "if the Justice Department is able to prove the facts stated and show the information is correctly designated, his conduct may certainly have violated the law".

Prosecuting such a high-ranking figure for mishandling sensitive materials is "rare" but not unprecedented, noted Carrie Cordero, a expert at the Center for a New American Security.

"Situations that concern sensitive materials pose challenges to try, but they can and are brought against equally low-level and senior officials, from occasionally," she said.

Similarities to Examinations into Former President and President

Trump likewise faced charges of wrongfully storing sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and obstructing their return, but that case was eventually thrown out by a federal judge and voided by his re-election as president.

A independent investigator additionally found that former President Joe Biden improperly stored sensitive materials from his time as second-in-command, but failed to prosecute him.

Bolton's case shares characteristics to Trump's sensitive materials matters, said Mr Lesko, who previously held a top security role at the DOJ.

Strict procedures govern the handling of classified documents. To win a guilty verdict, the government must demonstrate that Bolton was aware the material he was transmitting was classified, and he had to knowingly transmit it to someone without authorization to receive it.

"Due to the sensitive character of the material at issue in this matter, we don't have a great deal of details about why the government believes things like the personal notes and the additional material he shared by electronic message, and the reason there were restricted," said Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Conventional Prosecution

The process by which the DOJ brought this legal action will be closely examined, following Trump openly expressed his desire to see his critics charged and several of those charges came to fruition.

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

"This Bolton case and ultimately the indictment seemed to have observed the regular procedure including the rules and standards within the Department of Justice," he said.

Unlike Comey's brief, two-page indictment, Bolton's was a increasingly "conventional" filing that "explicitly outlines the particulars involving the facts and circumstances in this instance," Mr Lesko said.

"It seems reasonably consistent with a series of cases... where government officials improperly handled and shared classified material."