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Ex-President Donald Trump has repeatedly shown his wish to see opponents investigated, applying pressure on the DOJ to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We cannot postpone any longer, it's killing our reputation and trustworthiness," the president stated last month in a social media message.

"They impeached twice, and indicted me (5 times!)" he declared, referencing the four criminal cases he encountered after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

Each have subsequently been indicted, in cases that numerous specialists have said appear to be politically motivated and difficult to win in court.

But the most recent charges against a presidential opponent, former security advisor John Bolton, stand apart, legal specialists and ex-prosecutors assert.

"In my opinion, comparing Bolton's case to Comey's is like equating two different things," said Mark Lesko, a ex federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York.

This Specifics of Bolton's Legal Situation

Bolton has been criminally indicted on federal charges related to the supposed mishandling of classified information. After leaving the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a vocal presidential opponent, going so far as to call him "remarkably ignorant" and unsuitable for the presidency in his book.

Experts contend that while there may be political reasons to go after Bolton, the methods used to secure an charge and the proof gathered against him indicate a possibly stronger legal argument than the DOJ presented against James.

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

Throughout his time as Trump's national security adviser, and after his 2019 White House departure, prosecutors alleged that Bolton placed the country at danger by wrongfully keeping and sending classified information to relatives using unprotected methods, including AOL. Several of the documents were marked highly classified.

The charge states that at one point a unauthorized user accessed to Bolton's system 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 18 separate counts of mishandling classified information.

Retribution or a Substantial Legal Argument?

The timing of his charge - arriving on the tails of allegations against Comey - has revived concerns about external influence on the legal system.

Trump once suggested Bolton should be in prison, and described him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his part, wrote a book about his time in the Trump administration that was highly critical of the president.

"Undoubtedly that the timing of this charge, when paired with others, has prompted questions about the strength of these allegations, and the reason these counts are being filed now," said Jamil Jaffer, creator and executive director of the National Security Institute.

Nevertheless, he continued, "if the DOJ is capable to prove the allegations stated and show the information is correctly designated, his behavior may certainly have violated the statute".

Charging such a senior figure for improperly handling sensitive materials is "uncommon" but not unprecedented, said Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"Situations that concern classified information present challenges to try, but they may and are brought against both junior and high-level personnel, from occasionally," she explained.

Parallels to Investigations into Former President and Biden

Trump similarly faced allegations of improperly keeping sensitive materials 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 special counsel also determined that ex-President Joe Biden wrongfully stored sensitive materials from his time as vice president, but failed to prosecute him.

Bolton's case bears similarities to Biden's classified documents issues, noted Mr Lesko, who also held a top security position at the Justice Department.

Strict procedures regulate the handling of sensitive materials. To secure a conviction, the prosecution must prove that Bolton was aware the material he was sending was classified, and he had to intentionally transmit it to someone not entitled to obtain it.

"Due to the classified nature of the information at question in this matter, we don't have a lot of particulars about why the prosecution believes things like the personal notes and the other material he communicated by electronic message, and why there were classified," explained Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Traditional Legal Action

The procedure by which the Justice Department brought this legal action will be closely examined, after Trump openly posted his wish to see his political opponents charged and several of those charges materialized.

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

"The Bolton prosecution and eventually the charge seemed to have observed the regular process including the rules and norms within the Department of Justice," he said.

In contrast to Comey's brief, concise charge, Bolton's was a increasingly "traditional" document that "clearly outlines the particulars involving the circumstances and situation in this instance," Mr Lesko commented.

"It appears reasonably consistent with a long line of precedents... where public servants improperly handled and transmitted classified material."