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Ex-President Donald Trump has consistently expressed his wish to see critics probed, applying influence on the DOJ to charge former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We cannot postpone further, it's damaging our standing and credibility," the president wrote recently in a Truth Social post.

"They impeached twice, and indicted me (five times!)" he said, mentioning the multiple legal proceedings he encountered after departing the White House in 2021 and James's lawsuit.

Both have subsequently been indicted, in situations that numerous experts have stated seem to be politically motivated and difficult to succeed in court.

But the latest allegations against a presidential opponent, ex security advisor John Bolton, stand apart, legal experts and ex-prosecutors say.

"I would say, comparing Bolton's case to James' is like comparing apples to oranges," said Mark Lesko, a ex acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

The Specifics of Bolton's Case

Bolton has been formally charged on national allegations pertaining to the alleged improper handling of sensitive materials. After departing the White House in 2019, he has become a vocal presidential opponent, going so far as to describe him "remarkably ignorant" and unsuitable for office in his memoir.

Experts contend that while there may be political motivations to go after Bolton, the procedures used to obtain an charge and the evidence gathered against him indicate a potentially more substantial case than the DOJ presented against James.

"These actions that's being claimed is simultaneously more serious and appears to have occurred over a significant 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 departure, prosecutors claimed that Bolton put the nation at danger by improperly retaining and sending classified information to family members using unprotected methods, including AOL. Some of the documents were marked top secret.

The charge alleges that at one point a unauthorized user accessed to Bolton's system where documents were kept and transmitted an seeming warning to cause "the largest controversy since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were released".

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

Retribution or a Substantial Legal Argument?

The timing of his charge - arriving on the tails of charges against Comey - has revived concerns about external influence on the legal system.

Trump once implied Bolton should be in jail, and described him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his role, authored a publication about his experience in the Trump administration that was sharply negative of the president.

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

Nevertheless, he added, "if the DOJ is able to prove the allegations alleged and show the information is properly designated, his behavior may very well have broken the law".

Charging such a high-ranking figure for improperly handling sensitive materials is "uncommon" but not without precedent, said Carrie Cordero, a expert at the Center for a New American Security.

"Situations that concern sensitive materials present difficulties to prosecute, but they may and are filed against both low-level and high-level personnel, from time to time," she said.

Parallels to Investigations into Trump and Biden

Trump likewise encountered charges of improperly keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and hindering their recovery, but that matter was eventually thrown out by a court official and voided by his return as leader.

A special counsel additionally found that ex-President Joe Biden improperly maintained classified documents from his time as second-in-command, but did not prosecute him.

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

Strict protocols govern the management of sensitive materials. To secure a conviction, the prosecution must demonstrate that Bolton was aware the information he was transmitting was restricted, and he had to knowingly transmit it to someone not entitled to receive it.

"Due to the classified nature of the material at question in this case, we don't have a great deal of particulars about why the prosecution contends things like the personal notes and the additional information he shared by email, and the reason there were classified," said Mr Jaffer.

A More Traditional Prosecution

The procedure by which the Justice Department brought this legal action will be closely examined, after Trump publicly posted his wish to see his political opponents charged and several of those indictments materialized.

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

"The Bolton case and ultimately the charge appeared to have followed the standard process including the rules and norms within the Department of Justice," he stated.

Unlike Comey's short, concise indictment, Bolton's was a more "conventional" filing that "explicitly sets forth the particulars involving the facts and situation here," Mr Lesko said.

"It seems fairly aligned with a long line of precedents... where government officials mishandled and transmitted classified material."