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

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

"They impeached me, and indicted me (5 times!)" he said, mentioning the four criminal cases he faced after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's lawsuit.

Each have subsequently been indicted, in cases that many specialists have said appear to be driven by politics and difficult to win in court.

But the latest charges against a presidential opponent, former national security adviser John Bolton, differ significantly, legal experts and former prosecutors say.

"I would say, comparing Bolton's case to James' is like equating apples to oranges," stated Mark Lesko, a ex 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 supposed mishandling of classified information. Since leaving the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a vocal Trump critic, going so far as to call him "remarkably ignorant" and unfit for the presidency in his book.

Experts say that while there may be political reasons to go after Bolton, the methods used to obtain an charge and the proof gathered against him indicate a potentially stronger legal argument than the Justice Department presented against Comey.

"These actions that's being claimed is simultaneously more severe and appears to have taken place 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 national security adviser, and following his 2019 White House exit, prosecutors alleged that Bolton put the nation at risk by improperly keeping and sending sensitive documents to relatives using unprotected methods, 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 sent an apparent threat to cause "the largest controversy since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a hearing on Friday to 18 separate counts of mishandling classified information.

Retribution or a Substantial Legal Argument?

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

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

"There's no question that the timing of this indictment, when paired with additional cases, has raised questions about the validity of these allegations, and the reason these counts are being filed at this time," said Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director of the National Security Institute.

However, he added, "should the DOJ is able to demonstrate the facts alleged and show the information is properly classified, his conduct may very well have violated the law".

Charging such a high-ranking official for mishandling sensitive materials is "rare" but not without precedent, said Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"Situations that concern classified information pose difficulties to prosecute, but they can and are filed against both low-level and high-level personnel, from time to time," she explained.

Similarities to Examinations into Former President and President

Trump similarly faced charges of improperly storing classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and hindering their recovery, but that matter was eventually dismissed by a federal judge and negated by his re-election as president.

A special counsel additionally determined that former President Joe Biden improperly maintained sensitive materials from his time as vice president, but failed to prosecute him.

Bolton's situation bears similarities to Trump's classified documents matters, noted Mr Lesko, who also held a senior national security role at the DOJ.

Strict protocols regulate the management of sensitive materials. To win a guilty verdict, the government must demonstrate that Bolton was aware the information he was transmitting was classified, and he had to intentionally transmit it to someone without authorization to obtain it.

"Due to the classified character of the material at issue in this case, we lack a great deal of particulars about why the prosecution contends elements like the personal notes and the other material he communicated by email, and the reason there were classified," explained Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Traditional Legal Action

The process by which the DOJ brought this case will be closely examined, following Trump openly expressed his desire to see his political opponents prosecuted and some of those charges came to fruition.

But Mr Lesko indicated in Bolton's case, authorities appear to have adhered to protocol.

"This Bolton prosecution and ultimately the charge seemed to have observed the regular process including the rules and norms within the DOJ," he said.

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

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