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Former President Donald Trump has consistently expressed his wish to see critics investigated, exerting pressure on the Justice Department to charge former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We can't delay further, it's damaging our standing and credibility," the president stated last month in a social media message.

"I was impeached twice, and charged me (five times!)" he declared, mentioning the four criminal cases he encountered after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's lawsuit.

Each have since been indicted, in situations that many specialists have stated appear to be politically motivated and challenging to win in court.

But the latest charges against a presidential opponent, former security advisor John Bolton, differ significantly, legal specialists and former 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 Legal Situation

Bolton has been criminally indicted on national allegations pertaining to the alleged improper handling of sensitive materials. After departing the White House in 2019, he has become a vocal presidential opponent, going so far as to call him "stunningly uninformed" and unsuitable for the presidency in his book.

Specialists say that while there may be political reasons to go after Bolton, the methods used to obtain an charge and the evidence gathered against him suggest a possibly stronger legal argument than the DOJ brought against Comey.

"These actions that's being alleged is simultaneously more severe and appears to have occurred over a considerable duration," said Carissa Byrne Hessick, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

During his time as Trump's security advisor, and following his 2019 White House departure, prosecutors alleged that Bolton placed the nation at risk by wrongfully keeping and sending sensitive documents to family members using insecure means, including AOL. Several of the materials were labeled top secret.

The indictment alleges that at one point a unauthorized user gained access to Bolton's account where documents were stored and sent an apparent threat to cause "the biggest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a court appearance on recently to eighteen separate charges of mishandling classified information.

Political Motivation or a Substantial Legal Argument?

The timing of his charge - coming on the heels of allegations against James - has renewed questions about political pressure on the justice system.

Trump previously implied Bolton should be in prison, and called him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his role, wrote a publication about his experience in the Trump government that was highly critical of the leader.

"Undoubtedly that the timing of this charge, when combined with additional cases, has prompted questions about the validity of these charges, and the reason these counts are being filed now," said Jamil Jaffer, creator and executive director of the National Security Institute.

However, he added, "if the Justice Department is able to prove the allegations stated and demonstrate the material is properly classified, his conduct may very well have broken the law".

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

"Cases that involve sensitive materials present challenges to prosecute, but they may and are filed against equally low-level and senior personnel, from occasionally," she said.

Parallels to Examinations into Former President and Biden

Trump likewise faced charges of improperly keeping sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and hindering their return, but that case was ultimately thrown out by a federal judge and voided by his return as leader.

A special counsel also determined that ex-President Joe Biden wrongfully stored sensitive materials from his period as vice president, but did not criminally charge him.

Bolton's situation bears similarities to Trump's classified documents issues, noted Mr Lesko, who previously held a top security role at the DOJ.

Strict procedures govern the handling of sensitive materials. To win a guilty verdict, the government must demonstrate that Bolton knew the information he was sending was classified, and he had to knowingly transfer it to someone without authorization to obtain it.

"Because of the sensitive character of the material at question in this matter, we lack a lot of details about the reasons the government believes things like the diary entries and the other information he shared by email, and the reason there were classified," explained Mr Jaffer.

A More Conventional Prosecution

The procedure by which the Justice Department brought this case will be under scrutiny, following Trump publicly expressed his desire to see his critics prosecuted and some of those indictments came to fruition.

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

"This Bolton case and ultimately the charge appeared to have observed the regular process including the regulations and standards within the DOJ," he said.

In contrast to Comey's short, two-page indictment, Bolton's was a increasingly "traditional" filing that "clearly sets forth the details concerning the circumstances and circumstances here," Mr Lesko commented.

"It appears reasonably aligned with a series of cases... where public servants improperly handled and shared sensitive information."