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Former President Donald Trump has consistently 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 damaging our standing and trustworthiness," the president wrote last month in a social media message.

"I was impeached twice, and charged me (5 times!)" he said, referencing the multiple legal proceedings he encountered after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

Each have since been indicted, in situations that numerous specialists have stated 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 specialists and ex-prosecutors say.

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

This Specifics of Bolton's Legal Situation

Bolton has been formally charged on national allegations related to the supposed improper handling of classified information. After departing the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a vocal presidential opponent, even to call him "stunningly uninformed" and unfit for the presidency in his book.

Specialists say that while there may be political reasons to go after Bolton, the methods used to obtain an indictment and the proof compiled against him indicate a possibly stronger legal argument than the DOJ brought against Comey.

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

Throughout his tenure as Trump's security advisor, and following his 2019 White House departure, authorities alleged that Bolton put the country at danger by improperly retaining and transmitting classified information to family members using unprotected methods, including AOL. Some of the documents were marked top secret.

The charge states that at a certain time a unauthorized user accessed to Bolton's account where documents were stored and transmitted an seeming warning to cause "the biggest controversy since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were released".

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a court appearance on Friday to eighteen distinct charges of mishandling classified information.

Political Motivation or a Strong Case?

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

Trump once implied Bolton should be in prison, and called him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his role, authored a book about his experience in the Trump administration that was highly critical of the president.

"There's no question that the schedule of this indictment, when paired with others, has prompted questions about the validity of these allegations, and why these charges are being filed at this time," stated Jamil Jaffer, creator and executive director of the National Security Institute.

However, he added, "should the DOJ is capable to prove the allegations alleged and show the information is correctly classified, his conduct may very well have broken the law".

Charging such a high-ranking figure for mishandling sensitive materials is "uncommon" but not unprecedented, noted Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"Situations that involve sensitive materials pose challenges to prosecute, but they can and are brought against both low-level and senior officials, from occasionally," she said.

Parallels to Investigations into Trump and Biden

Trump likewise faced charges of wrongfully keeping sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and hindering their recovery, but that matter was eventually thrown out by a court official and negated by his re-election as leader.

A independent investigator additionally determined that former President Joe Biden improperly maintained sensitive materials from his period as vice president, but did not criminally charge him.

Bolton's case shares characteristics to Trump's classified documents matters, said Mr Lesko, who previously held a senior national security role at the DOJ.

Strict procedures govern the handling of sensitive materials. To secure a conviction, the government must prove that Bolton was aware the material he was transmitting was classified, and he had to intentionally transmit it to someone without authorization to receive it.

"Because of the sensitive character of the material at issue in this matter, we don't have a lot of particulars about why the prosecution believes elements like the diary entries and the other information he communicated by email, and why there were restricted," said Mr Jaffer.

A More Conventional Legal Action

The process by which the Justice Department initiated this legal action will be closely examined, after Trump openly posted his desire to see his political opponents prosecuted and several of those indictments came to fruition.

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

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

In contrast to Comey's short, two-page indictment, Bolton's was a more "traditional" document that "explicitly sets forth the details concerning the circumstances and situation here," Mr Lesko commented.

"It seems reasonably aligned with a long line of cases... where public servants improperly handled and shared sensitive information."