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

"We can't delay any longer, it's damaging our reputation and credibility," the leader stated last month in a social media message.

"They impeached twice, and indicted me (five times!)" he declared, mentioning the multiple legal proceedings he encountered after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's lawsuit.

Both have since been indicted, in cases that many experts have stated appear to be driven by politics and difficult to succeed in court.

But the latest charges against a presidential opponent, ex national security adviser John Bolton, stand apart, legal experts and ex-prosecutors assert.

"I would say, comparing Bolton's charges to Comey's is like equating 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 national allegations related to the alleged improper handling of sensitive materials. After departing the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a vocal presidential opponent, going so far as to call him "stunningly uninformed" and unfit for office in his book.

Specialists contend that while there may be political reasons to target Bolton, the methods used to obtain an indictment and the proof gathered against him indicate a potentially stronger legal argument than the DOJ presented against Comey.

"This misconduct that's being alleged is simultaneously more severe and seems 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 tenure as Trump's national security adviser, and after his 2019 White House exit, prosecutors alleged that Bolton placed the nation at danger by wrongfully retaining and sending sensitive documents to relatives using insecure means, including AOL. Several of the materials were marked top secret.

The charge states that at one point a unauthorized user accessed to Bolton's account where documents were kept and sent 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 eighteen separate charges of mishandling classified information.

Retribution or a Substantial Legal Argument?

The timing of his indictment - coming on the heels of charges against James - has renewed concerns about political pressure on the justice system.

Trump once suggested Bolton belonged in jail, and called him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his part, wrote a publication about his time in the Trump government that was highly critical of the president.

"There's no question that the timing of this charge, when combined with others, has prompted doubts about the strength of these charges, and why these charges are being brought at this time," said Jamil Jaffer, creator and executive director of the National Security Institute.

Nevertheless, he continued, "should the Justice Department is able to prove the facts stated and demonstrate the information is properly designated, his conduct may certainly have violated the law".

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

"Cases that concern sensitive materials pose difficulties to try, but they may and are brought against both junior and senior officials, from time to time," she said.

Similarities to Investigations into Former President and Biden

Trump similarly faced allegations of improperly keeping classified documents 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 president.

A independent investigator additionally determined that former President Joe Biden wrongfully maintained classified documents from his time as second-in-command, but did not prosecute him.

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

Rigorous procedures regulate the management of sensitive materials. To secure a conviction, the government must prove that Bolton knew the material he was sending was restricted, 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 matter, we lack a lot of particulars about the reasons the government believes elements like the personal notes and the other material he communicated by electronic message, and why there were restricted," explained Mr Jaffer.

A More Conventional Legal Action

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

But Mr Lesko said in Bolton's situation, prosecutors seem to have adhered to protocol.

"The Bolton prosecution and eventually the indictment seemed to have observed the regular procedure including the regulations and norms within the Department of Justice," he stated.

Unlike Comey's short, two-page indictment, Bolton's was a more "traditional" document that "clearly outlines the details involving the facts and circumstances here," Mr Lesko said.

"It seems reasonably consistent with a long line of precedents... where public servants mishandled and shared classified material."