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Former President Donald Trump has consistently shown his wish to see critics investigated, applying influence on the Justice Department 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 credibility," the leader stated last month in a Truth Social post.

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

Both have subsequently been charged, in cases that many specialists have said appear to be driven by politics and difficult to succeed in court.

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 Comey's is like comparing two different things," stated Mark Lesko, a former acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

The Details of the Case

Bolton has been formally charged on federal charges pertaining to the alleged mishandling of sensitive materials. Since departing the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a vocal Trump critic, going so far as to describe him "remarkably ignorant" and unfit for the presidency in his book.

Specialists contend that while there may be political motivations to go after Bolton, the methods used to secure an charge and the evidence gathered against him suggest a potentially stronger case than the Justice Department presented against James.

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

During his time as Trump's national security adviser, and following his 2019 White House departure, authorities claimed that Bolton put the nation at danger by wrongfully retaining and transmitting sensitive documents to family members using insecure means, including AOL. Several of the documents were labeled highly classified.

The indictment states that at a certain time a unauthorized user gained access to Bolton's account where documents were stored and transmitted an seeming warning to cause "the biggest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

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

Retribution or a Substantial Legal Argument?

The timing of his indictment - arriving on the heels of allegations against James - has renewed concerns about political pressure on the legal system.

Trump previously suggested Bolton belonged in prison, and called him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his part, wrote a publication about his time in the Trump administration that was sharply negative of the leader.

"Undoubtedly that the schedule of this indictment, when combined with others, has prompted questions about the strength of these charges, and why these charges are being brought at this time," said Jamil Jaffer, creator and director of the National Security Institute.

However, he continued, "should the DOJ is able to demonstrate the facts alleged and show the material is correctly classified, his behavior may certainly have violated the statute".

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

"Cases that concern sensitive materials pose difficulties to try, but they can and are brought against equally junior and high-level officials, from time to time," she said.

Similarities to Investigations into Former President and Biden

Trump likewise encountered allegations of wrongfully storing classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and obstructing their return, but that case was eventually dismissed by a federal judge and voided by his re-election as president.

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

Bolton's situation bears similarities to Trump's classified documents matters, said Mr Lesko, who also held a top security role at the Justice Department.

Rigorous protocols govern the handling of sensitive materials. To win a conviction, the government must prove that Bolton was aware the material he was sending 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 case, we lack a great deal of details about why the government believes elements like the personal notes and the additional material he shared by email, and the reason there were classified," said Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Traditional Legal Action

The procedure by which the DOJ initiated this legal action will be closely examined, following Trump publicly expressed his wish to see his critics charged and some of those indictments came to fruition.

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

"This Bolton prosecution and ultimately the indictment appeared to have observed the regular process including the rules and norms within the Department of Justice," he said.

Unlike Comey's brief, concise charge, Bolton's was a more "conventional" filing that "explicitly sets forth the particulars involving the facts and situation here," Mr Lesko said.

"It appears reasonably aligned with a long line of cases... where government officials mishandled and transmitted sensitive information."