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

"We can't delay further, it's killing our reputation and credibility," the leader stated last month in a social media post.

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

Each have since been charged, in situations that numerous specialists have said seem to be driven by politics and challenging to succeed in legal proceedings.

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

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

This Details of Bolton's Case

Bolton has been formally charged on national allegations related to the supposed improper handling of classified information. Since departing the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a vocal Trump critic, even to describe him "remarkably ignorant" and unfit for office in his memoir.

Specialists say that while there may be political motivations to go after Bolton, the procedures used to secure an indictment and the evidence compiled against him indicate a possibly more substantial 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 period of time," said Carissa Byrne Hessick, a academic at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

During his time as Trump's security advisor, and following his 2019 White House departure, prosecutors claimed that Bolton put the country at risk by wrongfully retaining and transmitting sensitive documents to family members using insecure means, including AOL. Some of the documents were labeled highly classified.

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

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a hearing on recently to eighteen separate charges of mishandling classified information.

Political Motivation or a Substantial Case?

The timing of his indictment - arriving on the heels of allegations against Comey - has renewed questions about external influence on the justice system.

Trump previously suggested Bolton should be in jail, and described him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his role, wrote a publication about his time in the Trump administration that was sharply negative of the president.

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

However, he continued, "should the DOJ is able to demonstrate the facts alleged and demonstrate the information is properly classified, his behavior may certainly have broken the law".

Charging such a senior official for mishandling sensitive materials is "rare" but not unprecedented, said Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

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

Parallels to Investigations into Trump and Biden

Trump similarly faced charges of wrongfully keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and hindering their return, but that matter was ultimately dismissed by a court official and negated by his return as president.

A special counsel additionally found that former President Joe Biden wrongfully maintained classified documents from his time as second-in-command, but failed to criminally charge him.

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

Rigorous procedures govern the management of sensitive materials. To win a conviction, the prosecution must demonstrate that Bolton was aware the information he was sending was classified, and he had to knowingly transmit it to someone without authorization to receive it.

"Because of the classified nature of the material at question in this matter, we don't have a lot of particulars about the reasons the government contends things like the personal notes and the additional material he communicated by email, and the reason there were restricted," said Mr Jaffer.

A More Traditional Legal Action

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

But Mr Lesko said in Bolton's situation, authorities appear to have followed protocol.

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

Unlike Comey's short, two-page charge, Bolton's was a more "conventional" document that "clearly outlines the details involving the circumstances and situation in this instance," Mr Lesko commented.

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