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Former President Donald Trump has consistently shown his wish to see opponents investigated, applying influence on the DOJ to charge ex 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 wrote recently in a Truth Social post.

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

Both have subsequently been indicted, in cases that numerous experts have stated appear to be driven by politics and challenging to succeed in court.

But the latest allegations against a Trump critic, former national security adviser John Bolton, stand apart, legal specialists and former prosecutors assert.

"In my opinion, contrasting Bolton's case to Comey's is like comparing two different things," stated Mark Lesko, a ex federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York.

This Details of Bolton's Legal Situation

Bolton has been formally charged on federal charges pertaining to the supposed mishandling of sensitive materials. Since departing the White House in 2019, he has become a vocal presidential opponent, even to call him "stunningly uninformed" and unsuitable for office in his memoir.

Experts say that while there may be political reasons to target Bolton, the procedures used to secure an charge and the proof compiled against him suggest a potentially more substantial legal argument than the Justice Department brought against Comey.

"These actions that's being claimed is both more serious and seems to have taken place over a significant duration," commented Carissa Byrne Hessick, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Throughout his tenure as Trump's national security adviser, and after his 2019 White House exit, prosecutors alleged that Bolton placed the nation at danger by wrongfully keeping and transmitting sensitive documents to relatives using insecure means, including AOL. Several of the materials were marked top secret.

The charge states that at a certain time a hacker gained access to Bolton's account where documents were stored and transmitted an seeming warning to cause "the largest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a hearing on Friday to 18 separate charges of mishandling sensitive materials.

Retribution or a Strong Legal Argument?

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

Trump previously implied Bolton should be in prison, and described him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his part, wrote a book about his experience in the Trump government that was highly critical of the leader.

"Undoubtedly that the timing of this indictment, when paired with additional cases, has raised doubts about the strength of these allegations, and the reason these counts are being brought now," said Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director of the National Security Institute.

However, he continued, "if the DOJ is able to demonstrate the facts stated and show the information is correctly designated, his behavior may very well have broken the statute".

Charging such a senior figure for improperly handling classified documents is "uncommon" but not without precedent, said Carrie Cordero, a expert at the Center for a New American Security.

"Situations that involve sensitive materials pose challenges to try, but they may and are filed against equally junior and senior personnel, from time to time," she said.

Parallels to Investigations into Former President and Biden

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

A independent investigator also found that former President Joe Biden improperly maintained sensitive materials from his time as second-in-command, but failed to prosecute him.

Bolton's situation shares characteristics to Trump's sensitive materials issues, said Mr Lesko, who previously held a senior national security role at the Justice Department.

Rigorous protocols regulate the handling of classified documents. To win a conviction, the government must prove that Bolton was aware the information he was transmitting was classified, and he had to knowingly transmit it to someone without authorization to receive it.

"Because of the classified character of the material at issue in this case, we lack a lot of particulars about the reasons the government believes elements like the personal notes and the other information he communicated by electronic message, and the reason there were restricted," explained Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Traditional Legal Action

The process by which the Justice Department initiated this legal action will be under scrutiny, following Trump openly posted his desire to see his political opponents prosecuted and some of those indictments materialized.

But Mr Lesko indicated in Bolton's case, authorities seem to have followed protocol.

"The Bolton prosecution and ultimately the charge seemed to have followed the regular process including the regulations and standards within the Department of Justice," he said.

In contrast to Comey's short, two-page charge, Bolton's was a increasingly "conventional" document that "explicitly sets forth the details involving the facts and situation in this instance," Mr Lesko said.

"It seems reasonably aligned with a long line of precedents... where government officials mishandled and shared sensitive information."