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Ex-President Donald Trump has consistently expressed his wish to see opponents probed, applying pressure on the Justice Department 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 trustworthiness," the leader stated last month in a social media message.

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

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

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

"In my opinion, contrasting 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.

This Details of Bolton's Case

Bolton has been criminally indicted on federal charges pertaining to the alleged mishandling of classified information. After departing the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a outspoken presidential opponent, going so far as to describe him "stunningly uninformed" and unfit for the presidency in his book.

Experts contend that while there may be political reasons to go after Bolton, the procedures used to obtain an indictment and the evidence gathered against him suggest a possibly stronger case than the Justice Department presented against Comey.

"These actions that's being alleged is both more serious and appears to have taken place over a considerable period of time," commented Carissa Byrne Hessick, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Throughout his tenure as Trump's security advisor, and following his 2019 White House exit, prosecutors alleged that Bolton placed the nation at danger by wrongfully retaining and transmitting sensitive documents to family members using unprotected methods, including AOL. Some of the materials were marked top secret.

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

Bolton entered a not guilty plea during a hearing on Friday to eighteen distinct charges of mishandling classified information.

Political Motivation or a Substantial Case?

The schedule of his charge - coming on the heels of charges against Comey - has revived concerns about political pressure on the legal system.

Trump once suggested Bolton should be in prison, and called him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his part, authored a publication about his experience in the Trump government that was highly critical of the president.

"There's no question that the schedule of this indictment, when paired with others, has raised doubts about the validity of these allegations, and the reason these counts are being filed at this time," stated Jamil Jaffer, creator and executive director of the National Security Institute.

However, he continued, "if the DOJ is capable to demonstrate the allegations alleged and demonstrate the material is correctly classified, his conduct may certainly have violated the statute".

Charging such a high-ranking official for improperly handling classified documents is "uncommon" but not unprecedented, said Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"Cases that involve classified information pose challenges to prosecute, but they can and are filed against both low-level and high-level officials, from occasionally," she explained.

Similarities to Examinations into Former President 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 eventually dismissed by a court official and negated by his re-election as president.

A special counsel also found that former President Joe Biden wrongfully maintained classified documents from his time as second-in-command, but did not prosecute him.

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

Strict procedures govern the management of classified documents. To win a guilty verdict, the government must demonstrate that Bolton was aware the information he was sending was restricted, and he had to knowingly transfer it to someone without authorization to obtain it.

"Because of the sensitive character of the material at question in this matter, we lack a lot of details about why the government contends things like the diary entries and the additional information he communicated by email, and why there were classified," explained Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Conventional Prosecution

The process by which the DOJ brought this case will be closely examined, following Trump openly posted his wish to see his critics prosecuted and some of those charges materialized.

But Mr Lesko said in Bolton's situation, authorities seem to have adhered to standard procedure.

"The Bolton prosecution and eventually the indictment appeared to have followed the standard process including the regulations and norms within the Department of Justice," he said.

In contrast to Comey's brief, concise indictment, Bolton's was a more "conventional" document that "clearly outlines the particulars involving the circumstances and circumstances here," Mr Lesko said.

"It seems reasonably aligned with a long line of cases... where government officials mishandled and shared classified material."