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

"We cannot postpone any longer, it's damaging our reputation and trustworthiness," the president stated recently in a Truth Social message.

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

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

But the latest allegations against a presidential opponent, former national security adviser John Bolton, differ significantly, legal specialists and former prosecutors assert.

"I would say, contrasting Bolton's charges 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 the Legal Situation

Bolton has been criminally indicted on federal charges related to the alleged mishandling of sensitive materials. Since leaving the White House in 2019, he has become a vocal Trump critic, going so far as to describe him "remarkably ignorant" and unsuitable for the presidency 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 suggest a possibly more substantial case than the DOJ presented against James.

"This misconduct that's being alleged is both more severe and appears to have occurred over a significant period of time," said Carissa Byrne Hessick, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

During his time as Trump's national security adviser, and after his 2019 White House departure, authorities claimed that Bolton put the country at danger by improperly keeping and sending classified information to family members using unprotected methods, including AOL. Several of the materials were labeled highly classified.

The charge states that at one point a unauthorized user gained access to Bolton's account where files were kept and sent an apparent warning to cause "the largest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

Bolton entered a not guilty plea during a court appearance on recently to 18 separate counts of improperly handling sensitive materials.

Political Motivation or a Substantial Case?

The schedule of his indictment - coming on the tails of allegations against James - has renewed questions about political pressure on the justice system.

Trump once suggested Bolton belonged in jail, and called him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his part, wrote a publication about his time in the Trump administration that was sharply negative of the leader.

"Undoubtedly that the schedule of this indictment, when paired with others, has raised doubts about the strength of these allegations, and why these counts are being brought now," stated Jamil Jaffer, creator and executive director of the National Security Institute.

However, he continued, "should the DOJ is capable to demonstrate the facts stated and demonstrate the information is correctly designated, his behavior may certainly have violated the statute".

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

"Cases that involve classified information present difficulties to prosecute, but they can and are brought against equally junior and high-level personnel, from occasionally," she said.

Parallels to Investigations into Trump and President

Trump likewise faced allegations of wrongfully keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and obstructing their return, but that matter was eventually dismissed by a federal judge and negated by his return as leader.

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

Bolton's situation shares characteristics to Biden's sensitive materials matters, said Mr Lesko, who previously held a top national security position at the DOJ.

Strict protocols govern the management of classified documents. To win a conviction, the prosecution must demonstrate that Bolton was aware the information he was transmitting was classified, and he had to knowingly transfer it to someone without authorization to obtain it.

"Because of the classified nature of the information at issue in this matter, we don't have a lot of details about the reasons the government believes things like the diary entries and the other information he communicated by email, and why there were restricted," said Mr Jaffer.

A More Traditional Prosecution

The process by which the DOJ brought this legal action will be closely examined, after Trump openly posted his wish to see his political opponents prosecuted and some of those indictments materialized.

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

"This Bolton case and ultimately the indictment appeared to have followed the standard process including the regulations and standards within the DOJ," he stated.

In contrast to Comey's short, two-page indictment, Bolton's was a more "traditional" filing that "explicitly outlines the particulars concerning the facts and situation here," Mr Lesko commented.

"It appears reasonably aligned with a series of cases... where government officials improperly handled and transmitted classified material."