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Ex-President Donald Trump has consistently expressed his wish to see opponents probed, exerting influence on the Justice Department to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We cannot postpone further, it's damaging our reputation and trustworthiness," the leader wrote recently in a social media post.

"I was impeached twice, and indicted me (five times!)" he declared, mentioning the multiple legal proceedings he faced after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's lawsuit.

Both have subsequently been charged, in situations that numerous specialists have stated seem to be politically motivated and challenging to win in court.

But the latest allegations against a Trump critic, former security advisor John Bolton, stand apart, legal experts and former prosecutors say.

"In my opinion, contrasting Bolton's charges to Comey's is like comparing 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 national allegations related to the supposed improper handling of classified information. After leaving the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a outspoken Trump critic, even to call him "remarkably ignorant" and unfit for office in his book.

Specialists contend that while there may be political motivations to target Bolton, the procedures used to obtain an indictment and the evidence compiled against him suggest a potentially more substantial case than the DOJ brought against Comey.

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

During his tenure as Trump's national security adviser, and following his 2019 White House exit, authorities alleged that Bolton placed the country at danger by improperly retaining and transmitting sensitive documents to relatives using unprotected methods, including AOL. Some of the materials were marked top secret.

The indictment alleges that at one point a unauthorized user gained access to Bolton's account where files were kept and sent 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 Friday to 18 separate counts of mishandling sensitive materials.

Political Motivation or a Strong Legal Argument?

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

Trump previously suggested Bolton should be in prison, and called him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his role, authored a publication about his time in the Trump government that was highly critical of the president.

"Undoubtedly that the timing of this charge, when combined with additional cases, has prompted doubts about the strength of these allegations, and why these counts are being brought now," stated Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director of the National Security Institute.

Nevertheless, he added, "should the DOJ is able to prove the allegations alleged and demonstrate the material is properly classified, his behavior may very well have broken the statute".

Charging such a high-ranking figure for mishandling sensitive materials is "rare" but not unprecedented, said Carrie Cordero, a expert at the Center for a New American Security.

"Situations that concern sensitive materials present challenges to try, but they can and are brought against both low-level and senior officials, from time to time," she said.

Parallels to Examinations into Trump and Biden

Trump likewise encountered charges of wrongfully storing sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and obstructing their recovery, but that case was eventually thrown out by a court official and voided by his re-election as leader.

A independent investigator also determined that former President Joe Biden wrongfully stored sensitive materials from his time as vice president, but did not criminally charge him.

Bolton's case shares characteristics to Biden's sensitive materials matters, noted Mr Lesko, who also held a senior national security position at the DOJ.

Rigorous protocols govern the handling of classified documents. To win a guilty verdict, the prosecution must prove that Bolton knew the information he was transmitting was restricted, and he had to intentionally transfer it to someone not entitled to receive it.

"Because of the sensitive nature of the information at issue in this case, we lack a great deal of particulars about the reasons the prosecution believes elements like the diary entries and the other material he communicated by email, and why there were restricted," said Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Conventional Prosecution

The process by which the DOJ initiated this legal action will be under scrutiny, after Trump publicly posted his wish to see his political opponents prosecuted and several of those indictments materialized.

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

"The Bolton case and ultimately the charge seemed to have observed the regular process including the regulations and standards within the Department of Justice," he stated.

Unlike Comey's short, two-page charge, Bolton's was a more "conventional" document that "explicitly sets forth the details involving the circumstances and circumstances here," Mr Lesko said.

"It seems reasonably consistent with a long line of cases... where public servants mishandled and transmitted sensitive information."