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Ex-President Donald Trump has consistently expressed his desire to see critics investigated, applying influence on the DOJ to charge ex FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We cannot postpone further, it's killing our standing and trustworthiness," the president wrote recently in a social media post.

"They impeached twice, and charged me (5 times!)" he declared, mentioning the multiple legal proceedings he faced after departing the White House in 2021 and James's lawsuit.

Both have subsequently been indicted, in situations that many specialists have stated appear to be politically motivated and challenging to succeed in legal proceedings.

But the latest charges against a Trump critic, ex security advisor John Bolton, stand apart, legal experts and ex-prosecutors say.

"I would say, contrasting Bolton's charges to Comey's is like equating two different things," stated Mark Lesko, a ex acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

The Details of Bolton's Case

Bolton has been criminally indicted on federal charges pertaining to the supposed improper handling of sensitive materials. Since departing the White House in 2019, he has become a outspoken Trump critic, going so far as to describe him "remarkably ignorant" and unfit for office in his memoir.

Specialists contend that while there may be political reasons to target Bolton, the methods used to obtain an indictment and the proof compiled against him indicate a potentially stronger case than the DOJ brought against James.

"These actions that's being claimed is simultaneously more serious and seems to have taken place over a considerable period of time," commented Carissa Byrne Hessick, a academic at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

During his tenure as Trump's national security adviser, and after his 2019 White House departure, prosecutors claimed that Bolton placed the country at risk by wrongfully retaining and transmitting sensitive documents to relatives using insecure means, including AOL. Several of the documents were labeled highly classified.

The charge states that at a certain time a unauthorized user accessed to Bolton's system where documents were stored and transmitted an seeming threat to cause "the largest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a hearing on recently to 18 distinct charges of mishandling sensitive materials.

Retribution or a Strong Legal Argument?

The schedule of his indictment - coming on the tails of charges against Comey - has revived concerns about external influence on the justice system.

Trump previously implied Bolton belonged in jail, and described him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his role, authored a publication about his time in the Trump administration that was sharply negative of the president.

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

Nevertheless, he added, "should the DOJ is capable to prove the facts stated and demonstrate the information is properly classified, his behavior may very well have violated the statute".

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

"Situations that concern sensitive materials pose difficulties to prosecute, but they can and are filed against both low-level and senior officials, from occasionally," she explained.

Similarities to Investigations into Former President and Biden

Trump similarly encountered charges of wrongfully keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and hindering their return, but that matter was ultimately 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 sensitive materials from his period as vice president, but failed to criminally charge him.

Bolton's situation shares characteristics to Trump's classified documents matters, said Mr Lesko, who previously held a top security position at the Justice Department.

Rigorous protocols govern the management of classified documents. To win a conviction, the prosecution must prove that Bolton was aware the material he was sending was classified, and he had to intentionally transfer it to someone without authorization to obtain it.

"Because of the classified character of the material at issue in this matter, we don't have a great deal of details about why the government contends things like the personal notes and the additional material he shared by email, and the reason there were classified," explained Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Traditional Legal Action

The procedure by which the Justice Department brought this case will be closely examined, following Trump publicly posted his desire to see his political opponents prosecuted and some of those charges materialized.

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

"The Bolton case and eventually the indictment seemed to have followed the standard procedure including the regulations and norms within the Department of Justice," he stated.

Unlike Comey's short, two-page indictment, Bolton's was a increasingly "traditional" document that "clearly outlines the details concerning the circumstances and circumstances here," Mr Lesko commented.

"It appears reasonably aligned with a long line of precedents... where government officials mishandled and transmitted classified material."