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Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his wish to see opponents investigated, exerting influence 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 credibility," the leader stated recently in a social media message.

"I was impeached twice, and charged me (5 times!)" he declared, mentioning the four criminal cases he faced after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's lawsuit.

Both have subsequently been charged, in cases that numerous experts have said seem to be driven by politics and challenging to succeed in court.

But the latest allegations against a Trump critic, ex national security adviser John Bolton, differ significantly, legal specialists and ex-prosecutors assert.

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

The Specifics of Bolton's Case

Bolton has been criminally indicted on federal charges pertaining to the supposed improper handling of sensitive materials. After departing the White House in 2019, he has become a vocal Trump critic, even to call him "remarkably ignorant" and unfit for office in his memoir.

Specialists contend that while there may be political reasons to go after Bolton, the procedures used to obtain an indictment and the evidence gathered against him suggest a potentially stronger legal argument than the Justice Department presented against James.

"These actions that's being claimed is simultaneously more severe and seems to have occurred over a considerable duration," commented Carissa Byrne Hessick, a academic at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Throughout his tenure as Trump's security advisor, and after his 2019 White House exit, authorities alleged that Bolton put the nation at danger by improperly keeping and transmitting classified information to family members using unprotected methods, including AOL. Several of the documents were labeled highly classified.

The indictment states that at a certain time a hacker gained access to Bolton's system where documents were stored and sent an apparent threat to cause "the largest controversy since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were released".

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a hearing on recently to 18 separate counts of improperly handling sensitive materials.

Retribution or a Substantial Legal Argument?

The schedule of his charge - coming on the tails of charges against Comey - has revived questions about external influence on the justice system.

Trump once implied Bolton belonged in jail, and called him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his role, authored a book about his time in the Trump government that was highly critical of the leader.

"There's no question that the schedule of this charge, when combined with additional cases, has raised doubts about the strength of these charges, and why these charges are being filed now," said Jamil Jaffer, creator and executive director of the National Security Institute.

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

Prosecuting such a high-ranking official for improperly handling sensitive materials is "rare" but not unprecedented, noted Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"Cases that concern classified information present challenges to try, but they can and are filed against both low-level and high-level personnel, from occasionally," she said.

Similarities to Investigations into Former President and Biden

Trump likewise encountered charges of wrongfully storing classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and hindering their recovery, but that matter was eventually dismissed by a court official and negated by his re-election as president.

A independent investigator also determined that former President Joe Biden wrongfully stored classified documents from his time as second-in-command, but did not criminally charge him.

Bolton's situation shares characteristics to Trump's classified documents issues, noted Mr Lesko, who also held a senior security role at the DOJ.

Strict protocols govern the management of sensitive materials. To secure a conviction, the government must demonstrate that Bolton knew the information he was transmitting was classified, and he had to knowingly transmit it to someone without authorization to obtain it.

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

A More Conventional Prosecution

The process by which the Justice Department initiated this legal action will be closely examined, after Trump publicly posted his wish to see his critics prosecuted and several of those charges materialized.

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

"The Bolton case and ultimately the charge appeared to have followed the standard process including the rules and norms within the DOJ," he said.

In contrast to Comey's brief, concise indictment, Bolton's was a increasingly "traditional" document that "explicitly sets forth the particulars involving the circumstances and circumstances here," Mr Lesko said.

"It appears fairly consistent with a series of cases... where public servants improperly handled and shared classified material."