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Ex-President Donald Trump has consistently expressed his wish to see opponents probed, applying influence on the Justice Department to prosecute 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 president wrote last month in a social media message.

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

Each have since been charged, in situations that numerous experts have said seem to be driven by politics and challenging to succeed in court.

But the latest charges against a Trump critic, former national security adviser John Bolton, stand apart, legal specialists and ex-prosecutors assert.

"In my opinion, contrasting Bolton's charges to James' is like comparing two different things," said Mark Lesko, a ex acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

The Details of the Case

Bolton has been criminally indicted on national allegations related to the alleged improper handling of classified information. Since leaving the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a outspoken presidential opponent, even to describe him "remarkably ignorant" and unsuitable for office in his book.

Experts say that while there may be political reasons to go after Bolton, the procedures used to obtain an indictment and the proof gathered against him suggest a potentially more substantial case than the Justice Department presented against James.

"These actions that's being alleged is simultaneously 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.

During his time as Trump's national security adviser, and following his 2019 White House departure, authorities alleged that Bolton put the country at danger by wrongfully retaining and transmitting sensitive documents to family members using insecure means, including AOL. Several of the documents were labeled highly classified.

The charge states that at one point a hacker accessed to Bolton's account where documents were kept and transmitted an apparent threat to cause "the largest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

Bolton entered a not guilty plea during a hearing on recently to 18 separate counts of improperly handling sensitive materials.

Political Motivation or a Substantial Legal Argument?

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

Trump previously implied Bolton should be in jail, and called him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his role, wrote a book about his experience in the Trump administration that was sharply negative of the president.

"Undoubtedly that the schedule of this charge, when combined with additional cases, has prompted doubts about the strength of these allegations, and why these charges are being brought at this time," stated Jamil Jaffer, creator and director of the National Security Institute.

However, he continued, "should the DOJ is able to prove the allegations stated and show the information is properly designated, his conduct may very well have broken the law".

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

"Situations that involve classified information present challenges to prosecute, but they can and are filed against both junior and high-level personnel, from time to time," she said.

Similarities to Examinations into Trump and Biden

Trump similarly faced charges of wrongfully keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and obstructing their recovery, but that case was ultimately dismissed by a federal judge and voided by his return as leader.

A special counsel additionally determined that former President Joe Biden wrongfully maintained classified documents from his time as vice president, but failed to prosecute him.

Bolton's situation shares characteristics to Trump's classified documents issues, said Mr Lesko, who also held a top security role at the Justice Department.

Rigorous procedures regulate the management of classified documents. To win a conviction, the prosecution must prove that Bolton was aware the information he was transmitting was classified, and he had to intentionally transfer it to someone not entitled to receive it.

"Because of the classified nature of the material at question in this matter, we don't have a lot of particulars about the reasons the government contends elements like the diary entries and the other material he shared by email, and why there were classified," explained Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Traditional Legal Action

The process by which the Justice Department brought this case will be under scrutiny, after Trump openly posted his wish to see his critics charged and some of those charges came to fruition.

But Mr Lesko indicated in Bolton's case, prosecutors appear to have followed standard procedure.

"The Bolton prosecution and eventually the indictment seemed to have followed the regular process including the regulations and standards within the Department of Justice," he stated.

Unlike Comey's short, concise charge, Bolton's was a increasingly "traditional" document that "clearly sets forth the details concerning the circumstances and circumstances in this instance," Mr Lesko commented.

"It appears fairly aligned with a series of cases... where government officials improperly handled and shared classified material."