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Ex-President Donald Trump has consistently expressed his desire to see opponents investigated, 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 killing our standing and credibility," the president wrote last month in a Truth Social message.

"They impeached twice, and indicted me (5 times!)" he declared, mentioning the four criminal cases he faced after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

Both have subsequently been indicted, in situations that numerous specialists have said appear to be driven by politics and challenging to succeed in court.

But the latest allegations against a Trump critic, ex national security adviser John Bolton, differ significantly, legal experts and ex-prosecutors assert.

"In my opinion, comparing Bolton's charges to James' is like equating two different things," 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 federal charges related to the supposed mishandling of sensitive materials. After leaving the White House in 2019, he has become a vocal Trump critic, going so far as to describe him "stunningly uninformed" and unfit for office in his memoir.

Experts contend that while there may be political reasons to target Bolton, the methods used to secure an charge and the evidence gathered against him suggest a potentially stronger legal argument than the DOJ brought against James.

"These actions that's being alleged is both more serious and appears to have occurred over a considerable period of time," said Carissa Byrne Hessick, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

During his time as Trump's national security adviser, and after his 2019 White House departure, prosecutors alleged that Bolton placed the nation at risk by improperly retaining and sending sensitive documents to family members using insecure means, including AOL. Several of the materials were marked top secret.

The charge alleges that at one point a unauthorized user accessed to Bolton's account where files were kept and sent an apparent threat to cause "the largest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were released".

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a hearing on recently to eighteen distinct counts of improperly handling sensitive materials.

Retribution or a Substantial Case?

The schedule of his indictment - coming on the heels of charges against Comey - has renewed questions about political pressure on the justice system.

Trump previously implied Bolton should be in prison, and called him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his part, authored a publication about his experience in the Trump government that was sharply negative of the leader.

"There's no question that the timing of this charge, when paired with additional cases, has raised questions about the validity of these charges, and why these charges are being filed now," stated Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director of the National Security Institute.

Nevertheless, he continued, "if the DOJ is able to demonstrate the allegations alleged and demonstrate the material is properly classified, his behavior may certainly have broken the statute".

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

"Situations that concern classified information pose challenges to prosecute, but they may and are brought against equally junior and senior personnel, from time to time," she said.

Similarities to Investigations into Former President and Biden

Trump similarly encountered charges of wrongfully storing classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and obstructing their return, but that matter was eventually dismissed by a federal judge and voided by his return as leader.

A special counsel additionally determined that ex-President Joe Biden wrongfully stored classified documents from his time as vice president, but did not prosecute him.

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

Strict procedures regulate the handling of classified documents. To win a conviction, the government must prove that Bolton was aware the material he was transmitting was classified, and he had to knowingly transfer it to someone without authorization to receive it.

"Due to the sensitive nature of the material at question in this matter, we lack a lot of details about why the prosecution believes things like the diary entries and the other information he communicated by email, and the reason there were classified," said Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Conventional Legal Action

The process by which the Justice Department initiated this case will be closely examined, after Trump publicly posted his wish to see his critics prosecuted and some of those charges materialized.

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

"This Bolton case and eventually the charge seemed to have observed the standard process including the rules and norms within the Department of Justice," he stated.

In contrast to Comey's brief, concise indictment, Bolton's was a increasingly "conventional" document that "explicitly outlines the details involving the facts and situation here," Mr Lesko commented.

"It seems reasonably consistent with a long line of cases... where government officials improperly handled and shared sensitive information."