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Ex-President Donald Trump has consistently shown his wish to see critics probed, exerting pressure on the DOJ to prosecute ex 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 wrote recently in a Truth Social post.

"They impeached twice, and charged me (five times!)" he said, mentioning the four criminal cases he faced after departing the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

Both have since been charged, in situations that numerous experts have said appear to be driven by politics and difficult to succeed in legal proceedings.

But the most recent allegations against a presidential opponent, ex national security adviser John Bolton, differ significantly, legal specialists and ex-prosecutors assert.

"I would say, comparing Bolton's charges to Comey's is like equating apples to oranges," said Mark Lesko, a former federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York.

This Specifics of Bolton's Case

Bolton has been criminally indicted on federal charges pertaining to the supposed improper handling of sensitive materials. Since departing the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a outspoken Trump critic, going so far as to describe him "stunningly uninformed" and unsuitable for office in his book.

Experts contend that while there may be political motivations to go after Bolton, the procedures used to secure an charge and the proof compiled against him suggest a possibly stronger case than the DOJ presented against Comey.

"This misconduct that's being claimed is both more serious and appears to have taken place 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 following his 2019 White House exit, prosecutors alleged that Bolton put the nation at risk by improperly retaining and sending sensitive documents to family members using unprotected methods, including AOL. Some of the documents were marked highly classified.

The charge alleges that at a certain time a unauthorized user accessed to Bolton's system where files were kept and transmitted an seeming threat to cause "the biggest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

Bolton entered a not guilty plea during a court appearance on recently to 18 separate charges of mishandling sensitive materials.

Retribution or a Strong Case?

The schedule of his indictment - coming on the tails of allegations against Comey - has revived concerns about external influence on the justice system.

Trump previously suggested Bolton should be in jail, and described him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his part, wrote a book about his experience in the Trump government that was sharply negative of the leader.

"There's no question that the schedule of this indictment, when paired with additional cases, has raised doubts about the validity of these allegations, and the reason these charges are being brought now," stated Jamil Jaffer, creator and director of the National Security Institute.

Nevertheless, he added, "should the Justice Department is able to prove the facts stated and show the material is correctly designated, his conduct may very well have broken the statute".

Charging such a high-ranking official for mishandling classified documents is "rare" but not unprecedented, noted Carrie Cordero, a expert at the Center for a New American Security.

"Situations that involve classified information present challenges to prosecute, but they can and are filed against both low-level and senior personnel, from occasionally," she said.

Similarities to Examinations into Former President and Biden

Trump likewise faced charges of improperly keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and obstructing their recovery, but that matter was ultimately dismissed by a federal judge and negated by his return as president.

A independent investigator also determined that former President Joe Biden improperly stored sensitive materials from his period as second-in-command, but did not criminally charge him.

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

Strict protocols regulate the handling of classified documents. To secure a conviction, the prosecution must demonstrate that Bolton knew the material he was transmitting was classified, and he had to intentionally transfer it to someone not entitled to receive it.

"Because of the sensitive nature of the material at question in this case, we lack a lot of details about why the prosecution contends elements like the diary entries and the additional material he shared by email, and why there were classified," explained Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Conventional Legal Action

The procedure by which the Justice Department brought this case will be closely examined, following Trump publicly expressed his desire to see his critics charged and some of those charges materialized.

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

"The Bolton case and eventually the indictment seemed to have followed the regular process including the rules and standards within the Department of Justice," he said.

Unlike Comey's short, two-page indictment, Bolton's was a increasingly "traditional" filing that "clearly sets forth the details concerning the circumstances and situation here," Mr Lesko said.

"It seems fairly aligned with a series of cases... where government officials mishandled and shared sensitive information."