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

"We can't delay further, it's damaging our reputation and trustworthiness," the president wrote recently in a social media post.

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

Both have since been charged, in cases that numerous specialists have stated seem to be driven by politics and challenging to succeed in court.

But the most recent allegations against a presidential opponent, former national security adviser John Bolton, differ significantly, legal experts and ex-prosecutors say.

"I would say, contrasting 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 the Legal Situation

Bolton has been criminally indicted on federal charges pertaining to the alleged improper handling of sensitive materials. Since leaving the White House in 2019, he has become a outspoken presidential opponent, even to describe him "stunningly uninformed" and unfit for office in his memoir.

Experts contend that while there may be political reasons to go after Bolton, the methods used to secure an charge and the proof gathered against him indicate a potentially more substantial case than the DOJ brought against James.

"This misconduct that's being alleged is both more serious and appears to have taken place over a considerable period of time," said Carissa Byrne Hessick, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Throughout his time as Trump's national security adviser, and following his 2019 White House departure, authorities alleged that Bolton placed the nation at risk by improperly retaining and sending classified information to family members using unprotected methods, including AOL. Several of the materials were labeled top secret.

The charge states that at one point a unauthorized user gained access to Bolton's system where documents were kept and transmitted an apparent warning to cause "the biggest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

Bolton entered a not guilty plea during a court appearance on recently to eighteen distinct counts of mishandling classified information.

Retribution or a Substantial Case?

The timing of his charge - coming on the heels of allegations against Comey - has renewed concerns about political pressure on the legal system.

Trump previously suggested Bolton should be in jail, and called him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his role, authored a publication about his experience in the Trump government that was highly critical of the leader.

"Undoubtedly that the schedule of this charge, when combined with others, has prompted questions about the strength of these allegations, and the reason these charges are being filed now," said Jamil Jaffer, creator and executive director of the National Security Institute.

However, he continued, "if the DOJ is capable to demonstrate the facts stated and demonstrate the information is properly designated, his behavior may certainly have violated the statute".

Prosecuting such a senior figure for mishandling classified documents is "uncommon" but not unprecedented, said Carrie Cordero, a expert at the Center for a New American Security.

"Situations that concern classified information present challenges to try, but they can and are filed against both junior and high-level officials, from time to time," she explained.

Parallels to Investigations into Trump and Biden

Trump likewise encountered allegations of wrongfully storing sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and obstructing their recovery, but that matter was eventually thrown out by a federal judge and voided by his re-election as leader.

A independent investigator additionally found that former President Joe Biden improperly maintained classified documents from his time as vice president, but failed to criminally charge him.

Bolton's case shares characteristics to Biden's sensitive materials issues, said Mr Lesko, who also held a top national security role at the Justice Department.

Rigorous protocols govern the handling of sensitive materials. To win a conviction, the prosecution must prove that Bolton knew the information he was transmitting was classified, and he had to knowingly transmit it to someone without authorization to obtain it.

"Because of the sensitive nature of the material at issue in this case, we don't have a great deal of particulars about the reasons the prosecution contends elements like the personal notes and the other information he shared by electronic message, and the reason there were classified," explained Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Conventional Prosecution

The procedure by which the DOJ brought this legal action will be closely examined, after Trump openly posted his wish to see his political opponents charged and several of those charges came to fruition.

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

"This Bolton prosecution and ultimately the indictment seemed to have observed the regular procedure including the regulations and norms within the DOJ," he stated.

Unlike Comey's short, two-page indictment, Bolton's was a more "conventional" filing that "explicitly sets forth the particulars involving the circumstances and situation here," Mr Lesko said.

"It seems reasonably consistent with a series of cases... where public servants improperly handled and shared sensitive information."