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

"We cannot postpone any longer, it's killing our standing and trustworthiness," the leader stated last month in a social media post.

"They impeached twice, and indicted me (5 times!)" he said, referencing the four criminal cases he faced after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

Both have subsequently been indicted, in cases that numerous experts have stated seem to be politically motivated and challenging to win in court.

But the most recent charges against a presidential opponent, former national security adviser John Bolton, stand apart, legal specialists and ex-prosecutors assert.

"In my opinion, contrasting Bolton's case to Comey's is like comparing apples to oranges," stated Mark Lesko, a ex federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York.

The Specifics of the Case

Bolton has been criminally indicted on national allegations related to the alleged improper handling of sensitive materials. Since departing the White House in 2019, he has become a outspoken Trump critic, going so far as to describe him "stunningly uninformed" and unsuitable for the presidency in his book.

Experts contend that while there may be political reasons to target Bolton, the methods used to obtain an charge and the evidence gathered against him suggest a potentially stronger legal argument than the Justice Department presented against Comey.

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

Throughout his time as Trump's security advisor, and following his 2019 White House departure, authorities claimed that Bolton put the country at risk by wrongfully keeping and transmitting sensitive documents to family members using insecure means, including AOL. Several of the documents were marked highly classified.

The indictment alleges that at one point a hacker gained access to Bolton's account where files were stored and sent an apparent threat to cause "the biggest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

Bolton entered a not guilty plea during a hearing on Friday to 18 separate charges of improperly handling classified information.

Retribution or a Substantial Case?

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

Trump once implied Bolton belonged in prison, and described him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his part, wrote a book about his time in the Trump administration that was sharply negative of the president.

"Undoubtedly that the schedule of this indictment, when paired with others, has prompted questions about the strength of these charges, and the reason these counts are being brought at this time," said Jamil Jaffer, creator and executive director of the National Security Institute.

However, he continued, "should the Justice Department is able to prove the facts stated and show the material is correctly designated, his behavior may certainly have broken the law".

Charging such a high-ranking official for mishandling sensitive materials is "uncommon" but not without precedent, noted Carrie Cordero, a expert at the Center for a New American Security.

"Situations that concern classified information present difficulties to prosecute, but they may and are filed against equally low-level and high-level officials, from occasionally," she explained.

Similarities to Examinations into Trump and Biden

Trump similarly faced allegations of wrongfully keeping sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and hindering their recovery, but that matter was ultimately thrown out by a court official and negated by his re-election as leader.

A special counsel also determined that former President Joe Biden wrongfully maintained sensitive materials from his period as second-in-command, but failed to criminally charge him.

Bolton's situation bears similarities to Trump's classified documents issues, noted Mr Lesko, who also held a senior security position at the DOJ.

Strict protocols govern the handling of sensitive materials. To secure a conviction, the government must demonstrate that Bolton was aware the information he was transmitting was restricted, and he had to knowingly transmit it to someone not entitled to obtain it.

"Due to the classified character of the information at question in this case, we don't have a lot of particulars about why the government contends things like the personal notes and the other information he communicated by email, and the reason there were classified," explained Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Traditional Legal Action

The process by which the DOJ initiated this legal action will be closely examined, following Trump publicly posted his desire to see his political opponents charged and several of those indictments came to fruition.

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

"The Bolton prosecution and eventually the charge seemed to have followed the regular procedure including the rules and norms within the DOJ," he said.

In contrast to Comey's brief, concise indictment, Bolton's was a more "conventional" document that "explicitly outlines the particulars involving the facts and situation in this instance," Mr Lesko commented.

"It seems fairly aligned with a long line of precedents... where public servants mishandled and transmitted classified material."