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Former President Donald Trump has consistently shown his wish to see critics investigated, exerting influence on the Justice Department to prosecute ex FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We can't delay further, it's killing our standing and credibility," the leader stated recently in a Truth Social post.

"I was impeached twice, and indicted me (5 times!)" he declared, referencing the four criminal cases he faced after departing the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

Both have subsequently been charged, in situations that many experts have said appear to be politically motivated and challenging to succeed in court.

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

"I would say, comparing Bolton's case to Comey's is like comparing apples to oranges," stated Mark Lesko, a former federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York.

This Specifics of Bolton's Legal Situation

Bolton has been formally charged on federal charges related to the alleged improper handling of classified information. Since departing the White House in 2019, he has become a outspoken presidential opponent, even to describe him "stunningly uninformed" and unfit for the presidency in his book.

Experts contend that while there may be political reasons to go after Bolton, the methods used to secure an charge and the proof compiled against him suggest a potentially more substantial case than the DOJ presented against Comey.

"This misconduct that's being alleged is both more serious and appears to have occurred over a considerable duration," said Carissa Byrne Hessick, a academic at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

During his tenure as Trump's national security adviser, and following his 2019 White House exit, authorities claimed that Bolton placed the nation at danger by wrongfully retaining and transmitting sensitive documents to family members using unprotected methods, including AOL. Several of the documents were marked top secret.

The indictment states that at one point a unauthorized user accessed to Bolton's account where files were stored and transmitted an seeming warning to cause "the biggest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were released".

Bolton entered a not guilty plea during a court appearance on recently to 18 distinct counts of improperly handling classified information.

Retribution or a Substantial Legal Argument?

The schedule of his charge - arriving on the tails of allegations against James - has revived questions about political pressure on the legal system.

Trump once suggested Bolton should be in prison, and described him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his part, authored a book about his experience in the Trump government that was highly critical of the leader.

"Undoubtedly that the schedule of this indictment, when combined with additional cases, has raised questions about the validity of these allegations, and the reason these counts are being filed at this time," stated Jamil Jaffer, creator and executive director of the National Security Institute.

However, he added, "should the DOJ is able to prove the facts alleged and demonstrate the material is properly classified, his behavior may certainly have broken the law".

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

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

Parallels to Investigations into Trump and President

Trump similarly encountered charges of wrongfully storing sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and obstructing their recovery, but that matter was ultimately dismissed by a court official and voided by his re-election as leader.

A independent investigator additionally found that ex-President Joe Biden wrongfully stored classified documents from his time as vice president, but did not prosecute him.

Bolton's case shares characteristics to Biden's sensitive materials matters, noted Mr Lesko, who previously held a senior security position at the Justice Department.

Rigorous protocols regulate the handling of classified documents. To win a conviction, the government must prove that Bolton was aware the material he was sending was restricted, and he had to knowingly transfer it to someone not entitled to obtain it.

"Because of the sensitive nature of the material at question in this case, we don't have a lot of particulars about the reasons the government believes things like the personal notes and the additional material he communicated by email, and why there were classified," explained Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Conventional Legal Action

The process by which the Justice Department brought this legal action will be under scrutiny, after Trump openly posted his desire to see his critics prosecuted and some of those indictments materialized.

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

"The Bolton prosecution and eventually the charge seemed to have followed the regular procedure including the rules and standards within the DOJ," he said.

In contrast to Comey's short, concise charge, Bolton's was a increasingly "traditional" document that "explicitly sets forth the details concerning the facts and situation in this instance," Mr Lesko said.

"It seems fairly consistent with a long line of precedents... where public servants improperly handled and shared classified material."