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Ex-President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his wish to see opponents investigated, exerting influence on the DOJ to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We can't delay any longer, it's killing our reputation and credibility," the leader wrote recently in a social media post.

"They impeached me, and indicted me (five times!)" he declared, referencing the multiple legal proceedings he encountered after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's lawsuit.

Each have subsequently been indicted, in cases that numerous specialists have said seem to be politically motivated and challenging to succeed in legal proceedings.

But the latest charges against a Trump critic, ex national security adviser John Bolton, stand apart, legal specialists and former prosecutors say.

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

The Specifics of the Case

Bolton has been formally charged on federal charges pertaining to the supposed mishandling of sensitive materials. Since leaving the White House in 2019, he has become a outspoken Trump critic, going so far as to describe 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 secure an charge and the proof compiled against him suggest a possibly stronger case than the DOJ brought against Comey.

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

Throughout his time as Trump's national security adviser, and following his 2019 White House exit, authorities alleged that Bolton put the country at danger by wrongfully retaining and sending sensitive documents to family members using unprotected methods, including AOL. Some of the materials were labeled top secret.

The charge alleges that at a certain time a hacker accessed to Bolton's system where documents were stored and sent an seeming warning to cause "the biggest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were released".

Bolton entered a not guilty plea during a hearing on recently to 18 separate charges of improperly handling sensitive materials.

Political Motivation or a Substantial Legal Argument?

The schedule of his charge - coming on the heels of allegations against Comey - has revived concerns about external influence on the legal system.

Trump previously implied Bolton should be in jail, and described him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his part, wrote a publication about his experience in the Trump government that was highly critical of the leader.

"There's no question that the schedule of this charge, when combined with others, has prompted doubts about the validity of these charges, and why these charges are being filed now," stated Jamil Jaffer, founder and director of the National Security Institute.

However, he added, "should the DOJ is able to prove the allegations stated and demonstrate the material is correctly designated, his conduct may very well have violated the law".

Charging such a high-ranking official for mishandling sensitive materials is "uncommon" but not unprecedented, noted Carrie Cordero, a expert at the Center for a New American Security.

"Situations that involve sensitive materials pose difficulties to try, but they may and are brought against both low-level and high-level personnel, from time to time," she explained.

Parallels to Investigations into Former President and President

Trump similarly encountered allegations of wrongfully storing sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and obstructing their return, but that case was eventually dismissed by a federal judge and negated by his return as leader.

A special counsel additionally found that former President Joe Biden wrongfully stored sensitive materials from his period as vice president, but failed to prosecute him.

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

Rigorous protocols regulate the handling of sensitive materials. To win a conviction, the government must demonstrate that Bolton was aware the material he was sending was classified, and he had to intentionally transmit it to someone not entitled to obtain it.

"Because of the sensitive nature of the material at question in this matter, we lack a lot of details about why the government contends elements like the personal notes and the additional information he communicated by email, and the reason there were restricted," said Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Traditional Legal Action

The process by which the DOJ initiated this legal action will be under scrutiny, following Trump publicly posted his wish to see his political opponents charged and several of those indictments materialized.

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

"This Bolton case and ultimately the charge appeared to have observed the standard procedure including the rules and norms within the Department of Justice," he said.

Unlike Comey's brief, two-page charge, Bolton's was a more "traditional" document that "explicitly outlines the particulars concerning the circumstances and situation in this instance," Mr Lesko commented.

"It seems fairly consistent with a series of precedents... where public servants mishandled and transmitted classified material."