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Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his wish to see critics investigated, applying influence on the Justice Department to charge former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We can't delay further, it's killing our standing and credibility," the leader wrote last month in a Truth Social post.

"They impeached twice, and charged me (5 times!)" he said, referencing the multiple legal proceedings he faced after departing the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

Both have subsequently been indicted, in situations that many specialists have said seem to be politically motivated and difficult to win in legal proceedings.

But the latest charges against a presidential opponent, ex security advisor John Bolton, stand apart, legal specialists and former prosecutors assert.

"I would say, contrasting Bolton's charges to James' is like equating two different things," said Mark Lesko, a ex federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York.

This Specifics of Bolton's 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 emerged as a outspoken presidential opponent, going so far as to describe him "stunningly uninformed" and unsuitable for office in his book.

Specialists say that while there may be political motivations to go after Bolton, the methods used to obtain an indictment and the proof gathered against him indicate a potentially more substantial case than the Justice Department presented against James.

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

During his tenure as Trump's security advisor, and after his 2019 White House departure, authorities claimed that Bolton put the country at risk by improperly retaining and transmitting sensitive documents to relatives using insecure means, including AOL. Some of the documents were labeled highly classified.

The indictment alleges that at a certain time a hacker gained access to Bolton's system where files were stored and transmitted an seeming threat to cause "the largest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

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

Political Motivation or a Substantial Legal Argument?

The schedule of his indictment - coming on the heels of charges against James - has renewed concerns about political pressure on the legal system.

Trump once suggested Bolton belonged in jail, and described him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his role, wrote a publication about his experience in the Trump administration that was highly critical of the president.

"There's no question that the timing of this indictment, when combined with additional cases, has prompted questions about the validity of these allegations, and why these charges are being brought now," stated Jamil Jaffer, founder and director of the National Security Institute.

Nevertheless, he added, "if the DOJ is capable to demonstrate the allegations alleged and show the material is properly designated, his behavior may certainly have violated the law".

Prosecuting such a senior figure for mishandling sensitive materials is "uncommon" but not without precedent, said Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"Cases that involve classified information pose difficulties to prosecute, but they can and are filed against equally junior and senior personnel, from occasionally," she explained.

Similarities to Examinations into Former President and Biden

Trump similarly faced allegations of wrongfully storing sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and obstructing their return, but that case was eventually thrown out by a court official and voided by his return as leader.

A special counsel also found that ex-President Joe Biden wrongfully maintained sensitive materials from his period as second-in-command, but did not criminally charge him.

Bolton's situation bears similarities to Biden's sensitive materials issues, noted Mr Lesko, who previously held a top national security role at the Justice Department.

Rigorous protocols govern the management of sensitive materials. To win a guilty verdict, the government must prove that Bolton was aware the information he was transmitting was classified, and he had to intentionally transmit it to someone not entitled to receive it.

"Due to the sensitive nature of the material at question in this matter, we lack a great deal of details about why the government believes elements like the personal notes and the additional information he shared by electronic message, and why there were classified," said Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Traditional Legal Action

The process by which the Justice Department initiated this case will be closely examined, after Trump publicly expressed his wish to see his critics charged and some of those charges materialized.

But Mr Lesko indicated in Bolton's case, authorities seem to have adhered to protocol.

"This Bolton prosecution and eventually the charge appeared to have observed the regular procedure including the regulations and standards within the Department of Justice," he said.

Unlike Comey's brief, concise indictment, Bolton's was a more "conventional" filing that "explicitly outlines the particulars concerning the circumstances and circumstances in this instance," Mr Lesko commented.

"It seems reasonably aligned with a long line of precedents... where government officials improperly handled and transmitted classified material."