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Ex-President Donald Trump has consistently expressed his wish to see critics probed, 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 message.

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

Each have subsequently been indicted, in situations that many experts have said seem to be politically motivated and difficult to succeed in legal proceedings.

But the latest charges against a Trump critic, former national security adviser John Bolton, stand apart, legal specialists and former prosecutors assert.

"In my opinion, contrasting Bolton's case to Comey's is like equating two different things," said Mark Lesko, a former acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

The Details of the Case

Bolton has been criminally indicted on national allegations related to the alleged improper handling of sensitive materials. Since departing the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a outspoken presidential opponent, going so far as to describe him "remarkably ignorant" and unsuitable for the presidency in his memoir.

Specialists say that while there may be political reasons to go after Bolton, the procedures used to obtain an indictment and the proof compiled against him indicate a potentially more substantial case than the DOJ presented against Comey.

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

Throughout his tenure as Trump's security advisor, and after his 2019 White House exit, authorities claimed that Bolton placed the nation at danger by improperly keeping and sending sensitive documents to family members using insecure means, including AOL. Some of the materials were marked highly classified.

The charge states that at one point a unauthorized user accessed to Bolton's system where documents 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 hearing on recently to 18 distinct charges of mishandling classified information.

Political Motivation or a Strong Legal Argument?

The timing of his charge - coming on the heels of charges against James - has revived concerns about political pressure on the legal system.

Trump previously implied Bolton should be in jail, and described him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his role, authored a book about his experience in the Trump government that was sharply negative of the leader.

"There's no question that the schedule of this indictment, when paired with others, has raised questions about the strength of these allegations, and the reason these counts are being filed now," stated Jamil Jaffer, creator and executive director of the National Security Institute.

Nevertheless, he added, "should the Justice Department is able to prove the facts alleged and demonstrate the material is correctly classified, his behavior may certainly have broken the law".

Prosecuting such a senior figure for improperly handling classified documents is "uncommon" but not without precedent, said Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"Cases that concern classified information pose difficulties to try, but they may and are brought against equally junior and high-level officials, from time to time," she explained.

Similarities to Investigations into Trump and President

Trump likewise encountered charges of improperly keeping sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and obstructing their return, but that case was eventually dismissed by a court official and negated by his re-election as leader.

A special counsel also found that ex-President Joe Biden improperly maintained sensitive materials from his time as second-in-command, but failed to prosecute him.

Bolton's situation shares characteristics to Biden's classified documents matters, noted Mr Lesko, who also held a top security role at the Justice Department.

Strict procedures regulate the management of classified documents. To win a guilty verdict, the prosecution must prove that Bolton knew the information he was sending was classified, and he had to knowingly transmit it to someone without authorization to obtain it.

"Because of the classified character of the material at question in this case, we don't have a lot 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," explained Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Conventional Legal Action

The procedure by which the Justice Department initiated this legal action will be under scrutiny, following Trump openly posted his desire to see his political opponents charged and several of those charges came to fruition.

But Mr Lesko indicated in Bolton's situation, authorities appear to have followed protocol.

"The Bolton case and ultimately the charge seemed to have observed the regular process including the rules and norms within the Department of Justice," he stated.

In contrast to Comey's brief, two-page charge, Bolton's was a increasingly "traditional" document that "clearly outlines the details concerning the circumstances and circumstances here," Mr Lesko said.

"It seems fairly aligned with a series of cases... where government officials improperly handled and transmitted sensitive information."