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Ex-President Donald Trump has consistently shown his desire to see opponents investigated, applying pressure on the Justice Department 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 leader wrote recently in a Truth Social message.

"They impeached twice, and charged me (five times!)" he said, mentioning the four criminal cases he faced after departing the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

Each have since been indicted, in situations that many specialists have said seem to be politically motivated and difficult to succeed in court.

But the most recent charges against a presidential opponent, former national security adviser John Bolton, differ significantly, legal specialists and ex-prosecutors assert.

"I would say, comparing Bolton's charges to James' is like comparing apples to oranges," stated Mark Lesko, a former federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York.

The Specifics of the Case

Bolton has been criminally indicted on federal charges related to the supposed mishandling of sensitive materials. After departing the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a vocal presidential opponent, even to call him "stunningly uninformed" and unfit for office in his memoir.

Specialists say that while there may be political motivations to go after Bolton, the procedures used to obtain an indictment and the proof gathered against him suggest a possibly stronger case than the DOJ brought against James.

"These actions that's being alleged is simultaneously more serious and seems to have occurred over a significant period of time," commented Carissa Byrne Hessick, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Throughout his time as Trump's national security adviser, and after his 2019 White House departure, prosecutors claimed that Bolton put the nation at danger by improperly keeping and sending sensitive documents to relatives using insecure means, including AOL. Some of the documents were marked highly classified.

The indictment states that at a certain time a hacker accessed to Bolton's account where documents were kept and sent an seeming threat to cause "the biggest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were released".

Bolton entered a not guilty plea during a hearing on Friday to 18 distinct charges of mishandling sensitive materials.

Retribution or a Strong Legal Argument?

The timing of his charge - arriving on the heels of allegations against Comey - has renewed questions about external influence on the legal system.

Trump previously suggested Bolton belonged in prison, and described him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his role, authored a book about his experience in the Trump government that was highly critical of the president.

"Undoubtedly that the timing of this charge, when paired with others, has prompted questions about the validity of these charges, and the reason these charges are being brought at this time," stated Jamil Jaffer, founder and director of the National Security Institute.

However, he added, "should the DOJ is able to demonstrate the facts stated and show the information is correctly designated, his behavior may very well have violated the statute".

Prosecuting such a high-ranking figure for mishandling 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 classified information pose difficulties to try, but they can and are filed against both junior and high-level personnel, from occasionally," she explained.

Similarities to Examinations into Trump and Biden

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

A special counsel additionally found that ex-President Joe Biden improperly maintained sensitive materials from his period as second-in-command, but failed to prosecute him.

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

Strict procedures regulate the management of sensitive materials. To secure a conviction, the government must prove that Bolton knew the information 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 question in this case, we lack a great deal of particulars about why the government believes elements like the personal notes and the additional information he communicated by electronic message, and the reason there were classified," said Mr Jaffer.

A More Traditional Prosecution

The process by which the Justice Department brought this legal action will be under scrutiny, following Trump openly posted his desire to see his critics charged and some of those charges came to fruition.

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

"The Bolton prosecution and eventually the indictment appeared to have observed the regular process including the rules and standards within the Department of Justice," he said.

Unlike Comey's brief, two-page charge, Bolton's was a increasingly "conventional" document that "explicitly sets forth the details involving the circumstances and situation here," Mr Lesko said.

"It seems fairly consistent with a long line of cases... where government officials improperly handled and shared classified material."