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Former President Donald Trump has consistently expressed his wish to see opponents probed, exerting pressure on the DOJ to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We cannot postpone further, it's killing our reputation and credibility," the leader stated recently in a Truth Social message.

"I was impeached twice, and indicted me (5 times!)" he said, referencing the multiple legal proceedings he encountered after departing the White House in 2021 and James's lawsuit.

Each have since been charged, in situations that many specialists have stated appear to be politically motivated and difficult to succeed in legal proceedings.

But the most recent charges against a presidential opponent, former security advisor John Bolton, stand apart, legal experts and former prosecutors assert.

"I would say, contrasting Bolton's case to James' is like comparing apples to oranges," stated Mark Lesko, a former acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

The Details of the Case

Bolton has been formally charged on federal charges related to the supposed mishandling of classified information. After leaving the White House in 2019, he has become a outspoken presidential opponent, even to call him "stunningly uninformed" and unsuitable for the presidency in his book.

Experts contend that while there may be political motivations to target Bolton, the procedures used to secure an charge and the evidence compiled against him indicate a potentially stronger legal argument than the DOJ presented against James.

"This misconduct that's being claimed is both more serious and seems to have occurred over a considerable duration," said Carissa Byrne Hessick, a academic at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

During his time as Trump's security advisor, and following his 2019 White House departure, authorities claimed that Bolton placed the country at danger by improperly retaining and transmitting sensitive documents to relatives using unprotected methods, including AOL. Some of the materials were labeled highly classified.

The indictment alleges that at a certain time a hacker accessed to Bolton's account where documents were kept and transmitted an apparent threat to cause "the largest controversy since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a hearing on recently to 18 separate counts of mishandling classified information.

Political Motivation or a Strong Case?

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

Trump once implied Bolton should be in prison, and called him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his role, authored a book about his time in the Trump government that was sharply negative of the leader.

"Undoubtedly that the timing of this indictment, when paired with others, has raised doubts about the validity of these allegations, and the reason these counts are being brought at this time," said Jamil Jaffer, founder and director of the National Security Institute.

However, he continued, "should the Justice Department is capable to prove the allegations stated and demonstrate the material is correctly designated, his conduct may certainly have broken the law".

Charging such a senior figure for mishandling sensitive materials is "uncommon" but not unprecedented, said Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"Cases that concern sensitive materials present challenges to try, but they can and are brought against both junior and high-level personnel, from time to time," she explained.

Similarities to Examinations into Former President and Biden

Trump similarly encountered allegations of improperly keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and hindering their return, but that case was eventually thrown out by a court official and voided by his re-election as leader.

A independent investigator also determined that former President Joe Biden improperly stored sensitive materials from his time as vice president, but failed to prosecute him.

Bolton's case bears similarities to Trump's sensitive materials matters, noted Mr Lesko, who previously held a senior national security position at the Justice Department.

Rigorous procedures regulate the handling of classified documents. To secure a conviction, the prosecution must prove that Bolton was aware the material he was transmitting was classified, and he had to knowingly transfer it to someone without authorization to obtain it.

"Due to the sensitive nature of the material at question in this case, we don't have a lot of details about why the prosecution believes elements like the diary entries and the other information he shared by email, and why there were classified," explained 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 political opponents prosecuted and some of those indictments materialized.

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

"This Bolton case and eventually the charge seemed to have followed the regular procedure including the regulations and standards within the Department of Justice," he stated.

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

"It appears fairly consistent with a long line of precedents... where government officials mishandled and transmitted sensitive information."