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Ex-President Donald Trump has repeatedly 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 cannot postpone further, it's damaging our standing and credibility," the leader wrote recently in a Truth Social post.

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

Each have subsequently been charged, in situations that numerous specialists have said appear to be driven by politics and difficult to win in legal proceedings.

But the latest allegations against a Trump critic, ex national security adviser John Bolton, differ significantly, legal experts and former prosecutors say.

"In my opinion, contrasting Bolton's case to James' 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 supposed improper handling of sensitive materials. After departing the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a outspoken Trump critic, going so far as to describe him "stunningly uninformed" and unfit for office in his book.

Specialists contend that while there may be political reasons to go after Bolton, the methods used to secure an charge and the proof gathered against him indicate a possibly more substantial legal argument than the DOJ presented against James.

"This misconduct that's being claimed is simultaneously more severe and seems to have occurred over a significant period of time," commented Carissa Byrne Hessick, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

During his time as Trump's security advisor, and following his 2019 White House exit, authorities claimed that Bolton placed the country at risk by wrongfully keeping and transmitting sensitive documents to family members using unprotected methods, including AOL. Some of the materials were marked highly classified.

The charge states that at a certain time a hacker gained access to Bolton's system where files 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 improperly handling classified information.

Retribution or a Strong Case?

The timing of his indictment - arriving on the heels of charges against James - has renewed questions about external influence on the justice system.

Trump previously suggested Bolton belonged in jail, and called him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his role, wrote a publication about his time in the Trump government that was highly critical of the president.

"There's no question that the schedule of this charge, when paired with additional cases, has prompted doubts about the validity of these charges, and the reason these counts are being brought now," said Jamil Jaffer, founder and director of the National Security Institute.

However, he added, "should the DOJ is able to prove the facts alleged and show the material is properly designated, his behavior may certainly have violated the law".

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

"Cases that involve sensitive materials present challenges to prosecute, but they may and are brought against both low-level and high-level personnel, from time to time," she explained.

Parallels to Examinations 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 matter was eventually thrown out by a federal judge and voided by his return as president.

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

Bolton's case bears similarities to Biden's sensitive materials issues, said Mr Lesko, who also held a top national security role at the DOJ.

Rigorous procedures govern the handling of sensitive materials. To secure a conviction, the prosecution must prove that Bolton knew the material he was sending 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 issue in this matter, we lack a lot of details about the reasons the prosecution contends things like the personal notes and the additional material he shared by email, and the reason there were classified," explained Mr Jaffer.

A More Traditional Legal Action

The process by which the Justice Department initiated this legal action will be closely examined, after Trump publicly posted his wish to see his political opponents charged and several of those charges materialized.

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

"The Bolton prosecution and eventually the charge appeared to have observed the regular procedure including the rules and standards within the DOJ," he said.

Unlike Comey's brief, two-page indictment, Bolton's was a more "traditional" document that "explicitly outlines the particulars involving the facts and situation here," Mr Lesko said.

"It appears fairly consistent with a long line of precedents... where public servants mishandled and shared classified material."