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Former President Donald Trump has consistently shown his desire to see critics investigated, exerting pressure on the Justice Department to prosecute ex FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We can't delay further, it's killing our reputation and trustworthiness," the president stated recently in a Truth Social post.

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

Both have since been indicted, in situations that many specialists have stated seem to be driven by politics and difficult to win in court.

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

"In my opinion, comparing Bolton's charges to Comey's is like comparing apples to oranges," stated Mark Lesko, a ex acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

The Specifics of the Legal Situation

Bolton has been criminally indicted on federal charges related to the alleged mishandling of classified information. After departing the White House in 2019, he has become a vocal 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 target Bolton, the methods used to secure an indictment and the proof compiled against him indicate a potentially more substantial legal argument than the Justice Department presented against James.

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

During his time as Trump's national security adviser, and following his 2019 White House departure, prosecutors alleged that Bolton put the country at danger by wrongfully keeping and transmitting classified information to relatives using insecure means, including AOL. Several of the documents were marked highly classified.

The charge alleges that at a certain time a unauthorized user accessed to Bolton's account where documents were stored and sent an seeming threat to cause "the biggest controversy since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

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

Retribution or a Strong Legal Argument?

The timing of his indictment - coming on the heels of allegations against James - has revived questions about external influence on the justice system.

Trump previously suggested Bolton should be in jail, and called him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his role, wrote a book about his experience in the Trump administration that was highly critical of the leader.

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

However, he continued, "if the DOJ is capable to demonstrate the allegations stated and show the material is correctly designated, his behavior may certainly have violated the statute".

Prosecuting such a senior official for mishandling classified documents is "rare" but not without precedent, said Carrie Cordero, a expert at the Center for a New American Security.

"Cases that concern classified information pose difficulties to prosecute, but they may and are brought against both junior and senior personnel, from time to time," she said.

Similarities to Investigations into Trump and Biden

Trump likewise encountered charges of wrongfully keeping sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and hindering their recovery, but that matter was ultimately dismissed by a court official and negated by his return as president.

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

Bolton's case bears similarities to Trump's classified documents matters, noted Mr Lesko, who also held a senior national security role at the Justice Department.

Strict protocols regulate the handling of classified documents. To secure a conviction, the government must demonstrate that Bolton knew the material he was transmitting was restricted, and he had to intentionally transfer it to someone not entitled to obtain it.

"Because of the sensitive character of the information at issue in this matter, we don't have a great deal of particulars about why the prosecution believes things like the personal notes and the additional material he communicated by electronic message, and why there were classified," said Mr Jaffer.

A More Traditional Legal Action

The procedure by which the Justice Department brought this legal action will be closely examined, after Trump publicly posted his desire to see his political opponents prosecuted and some of those charges materialized.

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

"This Bolton prosecution and eventually the indictment appeared to have observed the standard procedure including the rules and standards within the Department of Justice," he stated.

In contrast to Comey's brief, concise charge, Bolton's was a more "traditional" document that "explicitly sets forth the details involving the facts and circumstances here," Mr Lesko commented.

"It appears reasonably consistent with a series of precedents... where government officials mishandled and shared classified material."