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Ex-President Donald Trump has consistently shown his desire to see opponents investigated, applying pressure on the Justice Department to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We cannot postpone further, it's damaging our reputation and trustworthiness," the president stated last month in a Truth Social post.

"I was impeached me, and charged me (5 times!)" he said, mentioning the four criminal cases he encountered after departing the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

Both have subsequently been charged, in cases that many specialists have said appear to be driven by politics and difficult to win in court.

But the most recent charges against a Trump critic, former security advisor John Bolton, differ significantly, legal specialists and former prosecutors assert.

"I would say, comparing Bolton's case to Comey's is like comparing two different things," said Mark Lesko, a former federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York.

The Details of the Case

Bolton has been criminally indicted on federal charges related to the supposed mishandling of classified information. After leaving the White House in 2019, he has become a vocal Trump critic, going so far as to describe him "remarkably ignorant" and unsuitable for office in his memoir.

Specialists contend that while there may be political motivations to target Bolton, the procedures used to secure an indictment and the evidence compiled against him indicate a possibly stronger case than the Justice Department brought against James.

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

During his time as Trump's national security adviser, and following his 2019 White House departure, prosecutors claimed that Bolton put the nation at danger by wrongfully keeping and transmitting classified information to relatives using unprotected methods, including AOL. Several of the documents were marked highly classified.

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

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a hearing on recently to eighteen separate charges of mishandling sensitive materials.

Political Motivation or a Strong Case?

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

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

"There's no question that the timing of this indictment, when paired with additional cases, has raised 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.

Nevertheless, he added, "should the Justice Department is capable to prove the facts stated and show the material is correctly classified, his conduct may very well have violated the statute".

Charging such a senior official for improperly handling classified documents is "uncommon" but not without precedent, noted Carrie Cordero, a expert at the Center for a New American Security.

"Cases that involve sensitive materials present challenges to prosecute, but they can and are filed against equally low-level and senior officials, from time to time," she explained.

Similarities to Examinations into Former President and President

Trump likewise faced charges of wrongfully keeping sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and obstructing their return, but that case was eventually thrown out by a court official and negated by his return as leader.

A independent investigator also found that former President Joe Biden improperly maintained classified documents from his period as second-in-command, but did not criminally charge him.

Bolton's situation bears similarities to Biden's classified documents issues, noted Mr Lesko, who also held a top national security position at the DOJ.

Rigorous protocols regulate the management of sensitive materials. To win a guilty verdict, the prosecution must demonstrate that Bolton was aware the information he was transmitting was classified, and he had to intentionally transfer it to someone not entitled to obtain it.

"Due to the classified nature of the material at issue in this case, we lack a great deal of particulars about why the government believes elements like the diary entries and the additional information he communicated by electronic message, and why there were classified," said Mr Jaffer.

A More Traditional Prosecution

The process by which the DOJ brought this case will be closely examined, following Trump openly expressed his desire to see his political opponents prosecuted and several of those indictments materialized.

But Mr Lesko indicated in Bolton's situation, prosecutors appear to have adhered to protocol.

"This Bolton case and eventually the indictment appeared to have followed the regular procedure including the regulations and standards within the DOJ," he said.

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

"It appears reasonably aligned with a series of cases... where public servants mishandled and transmitted sensitive information."