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

"We cannot postpone any longer, it's killing our standing and trustworthiness," the leader wrote last month in a Truth Social message.

"I was impeached twice, and charged me (five times!)" he said, 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 experts have stated appear to be politically motivated and challenging to win in court.

But the latest allegations against a presidential opponent, ex security advisor John Bolton, differ significantly, legal experts and former prosecutors assert.

"In my opinion, contrasting Bolton's charges to James' is like equating two different things," stated Mark Lesko, a ex acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

The Specifics of the Legal Situation

Bolton has been formally charged on federal charges pertaining to the supposed mishandling of sensitive materials. After departing the White House in 2019, he has become a outspoken presidential opponent, going so far as to call him "remarkably ignorant" and unfit for office in his book.

Experts contend that while there may be political reasons to target Bolton, the procedures used to secure an charge and the evidence gathered against him indicate a potentially stronger legal argument than the Justice Department brought against Comey.

"This misconduct that's being alleged is simultaneously more serious and seems to have taken place over a significant duration," said Carissa Byrne Hessick, a academic at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

During his tenure as Trump's security advisor, and following his 2019 White House departure, authorities alleged that Bolton placed the nation at risk by wrongfully retaining and transmitting classified information to family members using insecure means, including AOL. Some of the materials were labeled highly classified.

The charge alleges that at a certain time a hacker gained access to Bolton's account where files were kept and sent an seeming threat to cause "the largest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

Bolton entered a not guilty plea during a court appearance on recently to eighteen distinct charges of improperly handling classified information.

Political Motivation or a Substantial Legal Argument?

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

Trump previously suggested Bolton should be in prison, and described him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his part, wrote a book about his experience in the Trump administration that was sharply negative of the leader.

"There's no question that the timing of this charge, when combined with others, has prompted questions about the strength of these charges, and the reason these counts are being filed at this time," said Jamil Jaffer, creator and director of the National Security Institute.

Nevertheless, he continued, "should the Justice Department is able to prove the facts stated and demonstrate the material is correctly classified, his conduct may very well have violated the law".

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

"Situations that involve sensitive materials pose difficulties to prosecute, but they can and are brought against equally low-level and high-level personnel, from occasionally," she said.

Similarities to Examinations into Former President and President

Trump similarly encountered allegations of improperly storing sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and obstructing their recovery, but that case was ultimately thrown out by a federal judge and negated by his re-election as leader.

A special counsel also determined that former President Joe Biden improperly maintained classified documents from his period as vice president, but did not prosecute him.

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

Rigorous protocols govern the management of classified documents. To secure a conviction, the government must demonstrate 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 classified nature of the material at question in this matter, we don't have a great deal of particulars about why the government believes things like the diary entries and the other information he shared by electronic message, and why there were restricted," explained Mr Jaffer.

A More Conventional Prosecution

The process by which the Justice Department initiated this case will be under scrutiny, after Trump openly posted his desire to see his critics prosecuted and some of those indictments came to fruition.

But Mr Lesko said in Bolton's situation, authorities seem to have adhered to protocol.

"This Bolton prosecution and ultimately the charge seemed to have observed the standard procedure including the rules and standards within the DOJ," he stated.

Unlike Comey's brief, concise indictment, Bolton's was a more "conventional" document that "clearly sets forth the particulars concerning the circumstances and situation here," Mr Lesko said.

"It appears reasonably aligned with a long line of precedents... where public servants mishandled and transmitted classified material."