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Ex-President Donald Trump has consistently shown his wish to see opponents investigated, exerting pressure 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 credibility," the president wrote last month in a Truth Social post.

"I was impeached me, and indicted me (five times!)" he declared, mentioning the multiple legal proceedings he faced after departing the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

Each have since been charged, in situations that numerous specialists have said appear to be driven by politics and challenging to succeed in legal proceedings.

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

"I would say, comparing Bolton's case to James' is like equating two different things," said Mark Lesko, a ex federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York.

This Details of the Legal Situation

Bolton has been formally charged on national allegations related to the alleged improper handling of sensitive materials. Since leaving the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a outspoken presidential opponent, even to describe him "remarkably ignorant" and unfit for office in his book.

Experts contend that while there may be political motivations to target Bolton, the methods used to obtain an charge and the evidence compiled against him indicate a potentially more substantial legal argument than the Justice Department brought against Comey.

"This misconduct that's being alleged is both more severe and appears to have occurred over a significant period of time," commented Carissa Byrne Hessick, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Throughout his time as Trump's security advisor, and following his 2019 White House departure, prosecutors alleged that Bolton placed the country at risk by wrongfully keeping and transmitting classified information to relatives using insecure means, including AOL. Some of the documents were marked highly classified.

The indictment states that at a certain time a hacker accessed to Bolton's system where files were stored and transmitted an seeming 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 separate charges of improperly handling sensitive materials.

Political Motivation or a Strong Case?

The timing of his charge - coming on the heels of charges against James - has revived questions about external influence on the justice system.

Trump once implied Bolton belonged in prison, and described him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his part, authored a publication about his time in the Trump administration that was highly critical of the leader.

"There's no question that the schedule of this charge, when paired with others, has raised questions about the strength of these charges, and the reason these counts are being brought at this time," said Jamil Jaffer, founder and director of the National Security Institute.

Nevertheless, he continued, "should the Justice Department is capable to prove the facts stated and demonstrate the material is correctly designated, his behavior may very well have broken the law".

Prosecuting such a senior official for mishandling sensitive materials 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 prosecute, but they may and are filed against both junior and high-level officials, from occasionally," she explained.

Parallels to Investigations into Trump and President

Trump similarly encountered charges of wrongfully storing classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and hindering their return, but that case was ultimately thrown out by a court official and voided by his return as president.

A independent investigator also determined that ex-President Joe Biden improperly stored classified documents from his period as second-in-command, but failed to criminally charge him.

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

Rigorous protocols govern the handling of classified documents. To secure a conviction, the prosecution must prove that Bolton was aware the information he was sending was classified, and he had to intentionally transmit it to someone not entitled to receive it.

"Because of the classified character of the information at issue in this case, we lack a great deal of details about the reasons the government believes things like the personal notes and the additional material he communicated by email, and the reason there were restricted," said Mr Jaffer.

A More Conventional Legal Action

The procedure by which the Justice Department initiated this case will be under scrutiny, following Trump openly expressed his wish to see his political opponents prosecuted and some of those indictments came to fruition.

But Mr Lesko indicated in Bolton's situation, prosecutors appear to have followed standard procedure.

"The Bolton prosecution and ultimately the charge seemed to have observed the standard procedure including the regulations and norms within the DOJ," he stated.

In contrast to Comey's short, concise indictment, Bolton's was a more "traditional" document that "explicitly sets forth the particulars involving the circumstances and situation in this instance," Mr Lesko commented.

"It appears fairly aligned with a series of precedents... where public servants mishandled and transmitted classified material."