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Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his wish to see opponents investigated, exerting pressure on the Justice Department to prosecute ex FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We can't delay further, it's damaging our reputation and credibility," the leader stated recently in a social media post.

"They impeached me, and indicted me (5 times!)" he declared, referencing the four criminal cases he faced after departing the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

Both have since been indicted, in situations that numerous experts have stated seem to be driven by politics and challenging to win in legal proceedings.

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

"I would say, comparing Bolton's charges to Comey's is like equating two different things," said Mark Lesko, a ex acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

This Specifics of the Case

Bolton has been criminally indicted on national allegations pertaining to the alleged mishandling of classified information. After leaving the White House in 2019, he has become a vocal presidential opponent, even to call him "remarkably ignorant" and unsuitable for the presidency in his book.

Experts say that while there may be political reasons to go after Bolton, the procedures used to secure an indictment and the proof gathered against him indicate a possibly more substantial case than the DOJ brought against Comey.

"This misconduct that's being claimed is simultaneously more severe and seems to have taken place over a considerable period of time," said Carissa Byrne Hessick, a academic at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Throughout his time as Trump's national security adviser, and after his 2019 White House exit, prosecutors claimed that Bolton put the nation at risk by improperly retaining and sending classified information to relatives using unprotected methods, including AOL. Several of the documents were marked top secret.

The charge alleges that at one point a unauthorized user gained access to Bolton's account where files were kept and sent an apparent warning to cause "the largest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were released".

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a hearing on recently to 18 distinct charges of improperly handling sensitive materials.

Retribution or a Substantial Case?

The timing of his charge - coming on the tails of charges against Comey - has revived concerns about political pressure on the justice system.

Trump previously suggested Bolton belonged in prison, and called him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his role, wrote a publication about his time in the Trump government that was sharply negative of the president.

"Undoubtedly that the timing of this charge, when paired with others, has raised questions about the strength of these charges, and the reason these charges are being filed at this time," said Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director of the National Security Institute.

However, he continued, "should the Justice Department is able to prove the facts alleged and demonstrate the material is correctly designated, his conduct may certainly have broken the statute".

Charging such a senior official for improperly handling sensitive materials is "rare" but not without precedent, noted Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"Cases that concern classified information pose challenges to prosecute, but they can and are filed against equally low-level and high-level officials, from occasionally," she said.

Parallels to Investigations into Trump and President

Trump likewise faced allegations of improperly keeping sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and hindering their recovery, but that matter was eventually dismissed by a federal judge and negated by his re-election as leader.

A independent investigator additionally determined that ex-President Joe Biden improperly stored classified documents from his time as second-in-command, but failed to prosecute him.

Bolton's situation shares characteristics to Biden's classified documents matters, said Mr Lesko, who also held a top security role at the Justice Department.

Rigorous procedures regulate the management of classified documents. To win a guilty verdict, the government must prove that Bolton knew the information he was sending was classified, and he had to intentionally transfer it to someone without authorization to receive it.

"Because of the sensitive character of the material at question in this case, we don't have a great deal of details about why the government believes elements like the diary entries and the other information he shared by email, and the reason there were restricted," explained Mr Jaffer.

A More Conventional Legal Action

The procedure by which the Justice Department brought this case will be closely examined, after Trump openly posted his wish to see his critics prosecuted and some of those charges materialized.

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

"This Bolton case and eventually the indictment seemed to have followed the regular process including the rules and norms within the DOJ," he said.

Unlike Comey's short, concise charge, Bolton's was a increasingly "conventional" filing that "clearly outlines the particulars involving the circumstances and situation here," Mr Lesko said.

"It appears reasonably consistent with a long line of cases... where public servants improperly handled and transmitted sensitive information."