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Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his wish to see critics probed, exerting influence 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 standing and trustworthiness," the president wrote last month in a Truth Social post.

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

Both have since been indicted, in cases that many experts have stated seem to be driven by politics and challenging to win in legal proceedings.

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

"In my opinion, comparing Bolton's charges to Comey's is like comparing two different things," stated Mark Lesko, a ex acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

This Details of the Case

Bolton has been criminally indicted on national allegations related to the alleged improper handling of classified information. Since leaving the White House in 2019, he has become a vocal presidential opponent, even to call him "stunningly uninformed" and unfit for office in his book.

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

"This misconduct that's being claimed is simultaneously more serious and seems 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 departure, prosecutors alleged that Bolton put the nation at risk by improperly keeping and sending classified information to family members using insecure means, including AOL. Several of the documents were marked highly classified.

The charge alleges that at one point a unauthorized user gained access to Bolton's system where files were kept and sent an apparent threat to cause "the biggest controversy since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were released".

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a court appearance on recently to eighteen separate charges of mishandling classified information.

Political Motivation or a Strong Legal Argument?

The schedule of his indictment - arriving on the tails of charges against Comey - has revived questions about political pressure on the justice system.

Trump previously implied Bolton belonged in jail, and described him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his part, authored a publication about his experience in the Trump government that was highly critical of the leader.

"Undoubtedly that the schedule of this indictment, when combined with others, has prompted doubts about the strength of these allegations, and the reason these charges are being brought now," stated Jamil Jaffer, founder and director of the National Security Institute.

Nevertheless, he continued, "should the DOJ is able to prove the allegations alleged and show the information is correctly classified, his behavior may certainly have broken the statute".

Prosecuting such a senior figure for improperly handling classified documents is "rare" but not unprecedented, said Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"Cases that concern classified information present challenges to prosecute, but they may and are brought against both low-level and high-level officials, from occasionally," she said.

Similarities to Examinations into Trump and Biden

Trump similarly faced charges of improperly keeping sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and hindering their return, but that matter was ultimately dismissed by a court official and voided by his return as leader.

A special counsel also determined that ex-President Joe Biden wrongfully stored sensitive materials from his time as second-in-command, but did not criminally charge him.

Bolton's case bears similarities to Biden's classified documents issues, noted Mr Lesko, who also held a senior national security position at the DOJ.

Rigorous protocols govern the handling of sensitive materials. To win a guilty verdict, the government must demonstrate that Bolton was aware the material he was sending was classified, and he had to knowingly transfer it to someone not entitled to receive it.

"Because of the classified character of the information at question in this matter, we lack a lot of particulars about the reasons the prosecution contends things like the diary entries and the other information he communicated by email, and why there were classified," explained Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Conventional Legal Action

The process by which the DOJ brought this legal action will be closely examined, following Trump publicly expressed his wish to see his political opponents prosecuted and several of those indictments came to fruition.

But Mr Lesko said in Bolton's situation, authorities appear to have adhered to protocol.

"This Bolton prosecution and eventually the charge appeared to have observed the regular procedure including the rules and norms within the DOJ," he stated.

In contrast to Comey's brief, concise indictment, Bolton's was a more "conventional" document that "explicitly outlines the details involving the circumstances and circumstances in this instance," Mr Lesko said.

"It seems reasonably aligned with a long line of cases... where public servants improperly handled and shared classified material."