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Former President Donald Trump has consistently expressed his wish to see critics probed, applying pressure 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 trustworthiness," the president wrote recently in a social media post.

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

Both have subsequently been indicted, in situations that many experts have said seem to be politically motivated and challenging to succeed in court.

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

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

This Specifics of Bolton's Case

Bolton has been formally charged on federal charges related to the alleged mishandling of classified information. Since leaving the White House in 2019, he has become a outspoken presidential opponent, going so far as to describe him "remarkably ignorant" and unfit for the presidency in his memoir.

Experts contend that while there may be political motivations to target Bolton, the methods used to obtain an indictment and the proof compiled against him suggest a possibly more substantial legal argument than the DOJ presented against Comey.

"These actions that's being alleged is both more serious and appears to have occurred over a significant 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 after his 2019 White House exit, prosecutors claimed that Bolton placed the country at danger by improperly keeping and transmitting classified information to relatives using insecure means, including AOL. Some of the documents were marked top secret.

The charge alleges that at one point a unauthorized user gained access to Bolton's system where files were kept and sent an seeming threat to cause "the biggest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

Bolton entered a not guilty plea during a court appearance on Friday to 18 distinct counts of improperly handling classified information.

Retribution or a Substantial Case?

The timing of his indictment - arriving on the heels of charges against James - has renewed questions about external influence on the legal system.

Trump previously implied Bolton belonged in prison, and called him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his part, authored a publication about his time in the Trump government that was sharply negative of the president.

"There's no question that the schedule of this charge, when combined with additional cases, has raised questions about the validity of these allegations, and why these charges are being brought at this time," said Jamil Jaffer, creator and executive director of the National Security Institute.

However, he added, "should the Justice Department is capable to prove the allegations stated and show the material is correctly classified, his conduct may certainly have violated the law".

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

"Cases that concern classified information pose challenges to prosecute, but they may and are brought against both junior and high-level officials, from occasionally," she said.

Similarities to Examinations into Trump and Biden

Trump likewise encountered charges of improperly keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and hindering their return, but that matter was ultimately thrown out by a court official and negated by his return as president.

A independent investigator also found that ex-President Joe Biden wrongfully maintained sensitive materials from his time as vice president, but failed to criminally charge him.

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

Rigorous protocols govern the handling of sensitive materials. To secure a guilty verdict, the prosecution must prove that Bolton was aware the material he was transmitting was restricted, and he had to intentionally transfer it to someone without authorization to obtain it.

"Because of the sensitive character of the information at question in this matter, we don't have a great deal of particulars about the reasons the prosecution contends things like the diary entries and the other information he communicated by email, and the reason there were restricted," explained Mr Jaffer.

A More Conventional Prosecution

The procedure by which the DOJ initiated this legal action will be closely examined, after Trump publicly expressed his desire to see his critics charged and some of those indictments materialized.

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

"This Bolton prosecution and ultimately the indictment seemed to have observed the standard procedure including the rules and norms within the Department of Justice," he said.

Unlike Comey's brief, concise charge, Bolton's was a more "traditional" document that "clearly sets forth the particulars concerning the facts and situation in this instance," Mr Lesko said.

"It appears fairly consistent with a long line of precedents... where public servants improperly handled and shared classified material."