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Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to see opponents investigated, exerting influence 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 damaging our standing and credibility," the president wrote last month in a Truth Social post.

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

Each have since been indicted, in situations that many specialists have said seem to be politically motivated and challenging to win in legal proceedings.

But the latest charges against a presidential opponent, former security advisor John Bolton, differ significantly, legal experts and former prosecutors assert.

"I would say, contrasting Bolton's case to James' is like comparing apples to oranges," stated Mark Lesko, a ex federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York.

The Details of the Legal Situation

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 vocal Trump critic, going so far as to call him "stunningly uninformed" and unsuitable for the presidency in his book.

Specialists say that while there may be political reasons to target Bolton, the methods used to secure an indictment and the proof gathered against him suggest a possibly stronger case than the DOJ brought against James.

"This misconduct that's being claimed is both more serious and seems to have taken place over a significant period of time," said Carissa Byrne Hessick, a professor 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 placed the nation at danger by improperly retaining and sending sensitive documents to relatives using insecure means, including AOL. Some of the documents were labeled top secret.

The charge alleges that at one point a hacker accessed to Bolton's account where documents were stored and sent an seeming warning to cause "the largest controversy since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a hearing on recently to 18 separate counts of mishandling classified information.

Retribution or a Strong Case?

The schedule of his indictment - arriving on the tails of charges against Comey - has revived concerns about external influence on the justice system.

Trump previously implied Bolton belonged in prison, and called him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his part, authored a publication about his time in the Trump administration that was sharply negative of the leader.

"Undoubtedly that the timing of this charge, when combined with others, has raised questions about the validity of these charges, and why these counts are being brought at this time," said Jamil Jaffer, creator and director of the National Security Institute.

Nevertheless, he continued, "should the Justice Department is capable to prove the allegations alleged and show the material is correctly classified, his behavior may very well have broken the statute".

Charging such a senior figure for improperly handling sensitive materials is "rare" but not unprecedented, said Carrie Cordero, a expert at the Center for a New American Security.

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

Similarities to Examinations into Trump and Biden

Trump likewise faced allegations of wrongfully keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and hindering their return, but that case was ultimately dismissed by a court official and negated by his return as president.

A independent investigator additionally determined that former President Joe Biden improperly stored classified documents from his time as vice president, but failed to criminally charge him.

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

Strict procedures regulate the management of classified documents. To secure a conviction, the prosecution must prove that Bolton was aware the information he was transmitting was classified, and he had to knowingly transmit it to someone without authorization to obtain it.

"Due to the sensitive nature of the material at question in this matter, we lack a great deal of details about the reasons the government contends elements like the diary entries and the other information he communicated by email, and the reason there were classified," explained Mr Jaffer.

A More Conventional Legal Action

The procedure by which the DOJ brought this case will be under scrutiny, following Trump openly expressed his wish to see his political opponents prosecuted and several of those charges materialized.

But Mr Lesko indicated in Bolton's case, authorities appear to have followed protocol.

"This Bolton case and ultimately the indictment seemed to have followed the regular process including the regulations and norms within the Department of Justice," he said.

Unlike Comey's short, concise indictment, Bolton's was a increasingly "conventional" document that "clearly outlines the particulars involving the circumstances and situation here," Mr Lesko said.

"It seems reasonably consistent with a series of cases... where public servants improperly handled and transmitted classified material."