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Ex-President Donald Trump has consistently expressed his desire 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 any longer, it's damaging our standing and credibility," the president wrote recently in a Truth Social post.

"They impeached twice, and indicted me (5 times!)" he declared, mentioning the multiple legal proceedings he faced after departing the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

Each have since been indicted, in cases that numerous specialists have said appear to be politically motivated and difficult to win in court.

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

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

The Details of the Legal Situation

Bolton has been formally charged on national allegations pertaining to the supposed mishandling of sensitive materials. After leaving the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a outspoken Trump critic, even to call him "stunningly uninformed" and unsuitable for the presidency in his book.

Specialists say that while there may be political motivations to go after Bolton, the procedures used to secure an indictment and the evidence gathered against him indicate a possibly more substantial legal argument than the DOJ brought against Comey.

"These actions that's being alleged is simultaneously more serious and appears to have taken place over a considerable period of time," commented 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 placed the country at danger by improperly retaining and sending sensitive documents to relatives using unprotected methods, including AOL. Several of the documents were labeled top secret.

The indictment alleges that at a certain time a unauthorized user gained access to Bolton's account where files were kept and sent an seeming warning to cause "the biggest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were released".

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a court appearance on recently to 18 distinct counts of improperly handling sensitive materials.

Retribution or a Substantial Case?

The timing of his charge - arriving on the tails of allegations against Comey - has renewed questions about political pressure on the legal system.

Trump previously suggested Bolton should be in prison, and called him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his role, 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 combined with others, has prompted questions about the strength of these allegations, and the reason these charges are being filed now," stated Jamil Jaffer, creator and director of the National Security Institute.

However, he continued, "if the Justice Department is capable to demonstrate the facts alleged and show the material is correctly classified, his behavior may certainly have broken the law".

Charging such a high-ranking figure for improperly handling classified documents is "uncommon" but not unprecedented, said Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"Situations that concern sensitive materials pose challenges to try, but they may and are filed against equally low-level and high-level personnel, from occasionally," she said.

Similarities to Examinations into Trump and President

Trump similarly faced charges of improperly keeping sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and hindering their return, but that matter was eventually dismissed by a federal judge and voided by his return as president.

A special counsel also found that ex-President Joe Biden wrongfully stored classified documents from his time as vice president, but failed to prosecute him.

Bolton's case bears similarities to Biden's sensitive materials issues, said Mr Lesko, who also held a top national security role at the DOJ.

Strict protocols govern the management of sensitive materials. To secure a conviction, the government must demonstrate that Bolton was aware the material he was sending was restricted, and he had to knowingly transfer it to someone without authorization to receive it.

"Because of the sensitive character of the material at issue in this case, we don't have a lot of details about the reasons the government contends elements like the diary entries and the additional material he communicated by electronic message, and why there were restricted," said Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Conventional Prosecution

The procedure by which the DOJ initiated this case will be closely examined, after Trump publicly posted his desire to see his critics charged and several of those indictments came to fruition.

But Mr Lesko said in Bolton's case, prosecutors appear to have adhered to protocol.

"The Bolton case and ultimately the charge appeared to have followed the standard procedure including the rules and norms within the DOJ," he said.

Unlike Comey's short, concise charge, Bolton's was a more "traditional" filing that "explicitly outlines the particulars concerning the circumstances and circumstances here," Mr Lesko commented.

"It appears fairly consistent with a series of cases... where government officials mishandled and transmitted sensitive information."