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Former President Donald Trump has consistently shown his desire to see critics investigated, applying pressure on the DOJ to charge former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We can't delay any longer, it's damaging our reputation and trustworthiness," the leader stated last month in a Truth Social post.

"I was impeached twice, and charged me (5 times!)" he said, referencing the multiple legal proceedings he faced after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

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

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

"I would say, comparing Bolton's case to James' is like equating two different things," stated Mark Lesko, a former acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

The Specifics of Bolton's Legal Situation

Bolton has been formally charged on national allegations pertaining to the alleged improper handling of sensitive materials. Since leaving the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a vocal presidential opponent, going so far as to describe him "remarkably ignorant" and unfit for the presidency in his memoir.

Specialists say that while there may be political reasons to target Bolton, the methods used to secure an charge and the evidence gathered against him indicate a potentially stronger legal argument than the Justice Department presented against James.

"This misconduct that's being claimed is both more severe and appears to have occurred over a significant duration," 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 exit, authorities alleged that Bolton placed the nation at risk by improperly keeping and transmitting sensitive documents to relatives using unprotected methods, including AOL. Some of the materials were labeled top secret.

The charge states that at one point a unauthorized user gained access to Bolton's account where files were kept and sent an seeming warning to cause "the biggest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were released".

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a court appearance on recently to 18 distinct charges of improperly handling sensitive materials.

Political Motivation or a Substantial Legal Argument?

The timing of his indictment - arriving on the tails of allegations against Comey - has revived concerns about external influence on the legal system.

Trump previously implied Bolton belonged in prison, and called him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his role, 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 raised doubts about the validity of these charges, and the reason these charges are being filed now," said Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director of the National Security Institute.

However, he added, "if the DOJ is able to prove the allegations stated and demonstrate the material is properly classified, his behavior may certainly have broken the statute".

Charging such a high-ranking official for mishandling classified documents is "rare" but not without precedent, noted Carrie Cordero, a expert at the Center for a New American Security.

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

Similarities to Examinations into Former President and Biden

Trump similarly faced charges of improperly storing sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and obstructing their recovery, but that case was ultimately dismissed by a federal judge and negated by his re-election as leader.

A independent investigator additionally found that ex-President Joe Biden wrongfully stored sensitive materials from his period as vice president, but did not criminally charge him.

Bolton's situation shares characteristics to Biden's sensitive materials issues, noted Mr Lesko, who also held a senior security role at the Justice Department.

Strict procedures regulate the management of classified documents. To secure a guilty verdict, the government must demonstrate that Bolton knew the information he was sending was classified, and he had to knowingly transmit it to someone not entitled to obtain it.

"Because of the sensitive nature of the material at issue in this case, we don't have a great deal of details about why the prosecution believes elements like the personal notes and the other material he shared by email, and the reason there were classified," said Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Traditional Legal Action

The process by which the DOJ brought this case will be under scrutiny, following Trump publicly posted his desire to see his political opponents charged and several of those indictments came to fruition.

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

"The Bolton prosecution and ultimately the indictment seemed to have followed the regular procedure including the regulations and standards within the Department of Justice," he stated.

In contrast to Comey's short, two-page indictment, Bolton's was a more "conventional" document that "clearly sets forth the particulars involving the circumstances and circumstances here," Mr Lesko said.

"It seems fairly consistent with a long line of precedents... where government officials mishandled and transmitted sensitive information."