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Former President Donald Trump has consistently expressed his wish to see opponents investigated, applying influence on the Justice Department to charge former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We can't delay any longer, it's killing our reputation and credibility," the president wrote last month in a Truth Social message.

"They impeached twice, and charged me (5 times!)" he said, referencing the multiple legal proceedings he faced after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's lawsuit.

Both have since been indicted, in cases that many specialists 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 specialists and former prosecutors assert.

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

This Details of Bolton's Case

Bolton has been criminally indicted on national allegations related to the alleged improper handling of sensitive materials. After departing the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a outspoken presidential opponent, going so far as to describe him "remarkably ignorant" and unfit for office in his memoir.

Specialists say that while there may be political reasons to go after Bolton, the methods used to secure an charge and the proof gathered against him suggest a possibly more substantial case than the Justice Department brought against Comey.

"This misconduct 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 time as Trump's security advisor, and following his 2019 White House exit, authorities claimed that Bolton put the nation at danger by improperly retaining and sending sensitive documents to relatives using unprotected methods, including AOL. Several of the documents were marked highly classified.

The indictment states that at one point a unauthorized user gained access to Bolton's account where documents were stored and transmitted an seeming threat to cause "the largest controversy since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were released".

Bolton entered a not guilty plea during a court appearance on recently to eighteen separate counts of improperly handling sensitive materials.

Political Motivation or a Substantial Legal Argument?

The schedule of his charge - coming on the tails of allegations against James - has renewed concerns about political pressure on the justice system.

Trump once suggested Bolton should be in jail, and called him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his role, authored a book about his experience in the Trump government that was sharply negative of the leader.

"Undoubtedly that the timing of this charge, when combined with additional cases, has prompted questions about the validity of these charges, and why these charges are being filed at this time," said Jamil Jaffer, creator and executive director of the National Security Institute.

However, he continued, "if the DOJ is capable to demonstrate the allegations alleged and show the material is correctly designated, his conduct may certainly have broken the law".

Prosecuting such a high-ranking official for improperly handling classified documents is "rare" but not without precedent, said Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"Situations that involve classified information pose difficulties to prosecute, but they can and are brought against both junior and senior officials, from occasionally," she explained.

Similarities to Examinations into Trump and Biden

Trump similarly faced charges of wrongfully keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and hindering their return, but that case was eventually thrown out by a court official and negated by his re-election as leader.

A independent investigator also determined that former President Joe Biden improperly maintained classified documents from his time as vice president, but failed to prosecute him.

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

Rigorous procedures regulate the handling of sensitive materials. To win a guilty verdict, the prosecution must demonstrate that Bolton was aware the material he was sending was restricted, and he had to intentionally transmit it to someone without authorization to receive it.

"Due to the sensitive nature of the information at issue in this matter, we don't have a great deal of details about why the government believes things like the personal notes and the other material he communicated by electronic message, and why there were classified," explained Mr Jaffer.

A More Traditional Legal Action

The process by which the DOJ brought this case will be closely examined, after Trump publicly posted his wish to see his critics charged and several of those charges materialized.

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

"This Bolton case and ultimately the indictment appeared to have observed the standard procedure including the rules and norms within the DOJ," he said.

Unlike Comey's brief, two-page indictment, Bolton's was a more "conventional" filing that "explicitly outlines the details concerning the circumstances and circumstances in this instance," Mr Lesko said.

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