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Former President Donald Trump has consistently shown his desire to see opponents probed, exerting influence on the DOJ to prosecute ex FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We can't delay further, it's damaging our reputation and trustworthiness," the leader wrote recently in a social media post.

"I was impeached me, and charged me (5 times!)" he declared, referencing the multiple legal proceedings he encountered after departing the White House in 2021 and James's lawsuit.

Each have since been indicted, in situations that many experts have stated seem to be driven by politics and difficult to succeed in legal proceedings.

But the most recent allegations against a presidential opponent, ex national security adviser John Bolton, stand apart, legal specialists and ex-prosecutors say.

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

The Specifics of the Case

Bolton has been criminally indicted on national allegations pertaining to the alleged mishandling of classified information. After departing the White House in 2019, he has become a outspoken Trump critic, even to call him "remarkably ignorant" and unfit for the presidency in his book.

Specialists say that while there may be political reasons to go after Bolton, the procedures used to obtain an indictment and the proof gathered against him indicate a possibly more substantial legal argument than the Justice Department brought against Comey.

"This misconduct that's being alleged is both more serious and appears to have occurred over a significant period of time," 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 exit, prosecutors alleged that Bolton placed the nation at risk by improperly retaining and transmitting classified information to relatives using insecure means, including AOL. Several of the materials were marked top secret.

The indictment alleges that at a certain time a hacker gained access to Bolton's account where files were kept and transmitted an seeming warning to cause "the largest controversy since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were released".

Bolton entered a not guilty plea during a court appearance on Friday to eighteen distinct charges of mishandling sensitive materials.

Political Motivation or a Strong Legal Argument?

The timing of his indictment - coming on the heels of charges against James - has revived concerns about external influence on the legal system.

Trump once suggested Bolton should be in prison, and called him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his part, wrote a publication about his time in the Trump government that was highly critical of the president.

"Undoubtedly that the schedule of this charge, when paired with additional cases, has prompted questions about the strength of these allegations, and the reason these counts are being brought now," said Jamil Jaffer, creator and director of the National Security Institute.

However, he added, "if the Justice Department is capable to demonstrate the facts stated and demonstrate the information is correctly classified, his behavior may certainly have violated the statute".

Charging such a high-ranking figure for improperly handling sensitive materials is "uncommon" but not unprecedented, said Carrie Cordero, a expert at the Center for a New American Security.

"Cases that concern sensitive materials pose challenges to try, but they may and are filed against both junior and senior officials, from occasionally," she explained.

Parallels to Investigations into Trump and President

Trump similarly faced allegations of improperly keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and obstructing their return, but that case was ultimately dismissed by a court official and negated by his return as president.

A independent investigator additionally found that ex-President Joe Biden improperly maintained sensitive materials from his period as second-in-command, but failed to criminally charge him.

Bolton's situation bears similarities to Biden's sensitive materials issues, said Mr Lesko, who previously held a top national security role at the Justice Department.

Rigorous protocols regulate the handling of sensitive materials. To secure a guilty verdict, the government must prove that Bolton knew the information he was transmitting was classified, and he had to knowingly transmit it to someone without authorization to receive it.

"Because of the sensitive character of the material at question in this matter, we lack a lot of particulars about why the prosecution contends elements like the personal notes and the additional information he communicated by electronic message, and the reason there were restricted," said Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Conventional Legal Action

The procedure by which the DOJ brought this case will be closely examined, following Trump openly posted his desire to see his political opponents prosecuted and some of those indictments came to fruition.

But Mr Lesko indicated in Bolton's case, authorities appear to have adhered to protocol.

"This Bolton case and eventually the charge seemed to have followed the regular procedure including the regulations and standards within the Department of Justice," he stated.

In contrast to Comey's brief, two-page charge, Bolton's was a increasingly "traditional" filing that "explicitly sets forth the details involving the circumstances and circumstances in this instance," Mr Lesko said.

"It appears reasonably consistent with a series of cases... where public servants mishandled and shared sensitive information."