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Ex-President Donald Trump has consistently shown his desire to see opponents investigated, exerting influence on the DOJ to charge former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

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

"They impeached twice, and indicted me (5 times!)" he said, mentioning 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 specialists have said appear to be driven by politics and difficult to succeed in legal proceedings.

But the most recent charges against a Trump critic, former security advisor John Bolton, differ significantly, legal experts and ex-prosecutors assert.

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

This Specifics of the Legal Situation

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

Specialists say that while there may be political motivations to target Bolton, the procedures used to obtain an indictment and the evidence compiled against him suggest a potentially stronger legal argument than the Justice Department presented against James.

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

Throughout his time as Trump's security advisor, and following his 2019 White House departure, authorities alleged that Bolton put the country at risk by wrongfully retaining and sending sensitive documents to relatives using insecure means, including AOL. Several of the documents were marked top secret.

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

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a court appearance on recently to 18 separate counts of mishandling classified information.

Retribution or a Strong Legal Argument?

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

Trump previously implied Bolton belonged in prison, and described him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his part, authored a book about his time in the Trump government that was sharply negative of the leader.

"Undoubtedly that the schedule of this indictment, when paired with others, has prompted doubts about the validity of these allegations, and the reason these charges are being filed at this time," said Jamil Jaffer, creator and director of the National Security Institute.

Nevertheless, he continued, "if the Justice Department is capable to prove the allegations stated and demonstrate the information is properly classified, his behavior may very well have broken the law".

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

"Situations that involve classified information pose difficulties to prosecute, but they can and are brought against both junior and high-level officials, from time to time," she explained.

Parallels to Investigations into Trump and President

Trump likewise faced allegations of improperly storing sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and hindering their return, but that case was eventually thrown out by a court official and voided by his return as president.

A independent investigator additionally found that former President Joe Biden improperly maintained sensitive materials from his period as vice president, but failed to criminally charge him.

Bolton's case bears similarities to Biden's classified documents issues, said Mr Lesko, who previously held a senior security role at the DOJ.

Strict procedures govern the handling of sensitive materials. To secure a guilty verdict, the prosecution must demonstrate that Bolton knew the information he was transmitting was restricted, and he had to intentionally transmit it to someone not entitled to receive it.

"Because of the sensitive nature of the material at question in this matter, we don't have a great deal of details about the reasons the prosecution contends elements like the diary entries and the other information he communicated by electronic message, and why there were restricted," explained Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Conventional Legal Action

The process by which the Justice Department initiated this legal action will be closely examined, following Trump openly expressed his wish to see his political opponents prosecuted and some of those indictments materialized.

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

"This Bolton case and eventually the charge seemed to have followed the standard procedure including the regulations and norms within the DOJ," he said.

In contrast to Comey's short, two-page charge, Bolton's was a increasingly "conventional" document that "explicitly sets forth the details involving the facts and circumstances here," Mr Lesko said.

"It seems reasonably aligned with a long line of cases... where public servants mishandled and transmitted classified material."