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Ex-President Donald Trump has consistently shown his wish to see critics probed, applying pressure on the DOJ to charge ex FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We cannot postpone any longer, it's killing our standing and credibility," the leader stated last month in a Truth Social post.

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

Each have subsequently been indicted, in situations that many experts have stated seem to be driven by politics and challenging to win in legal proceedings.

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

"I would say, contrasting Bolton's charges to James' is like equating two different things," said Mark Lesko, a former acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

The Details of Bolton's Legal Situation

Bolton has been formally charged on federal charges related to the alleged mishandling of classified information. After departing the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a outspoken Trump critic, going so far as to describe him "remarkably ignorant" and unfit for office in his book.

Experts say that while there may be political motivations to target Bolton, the methods used to secure an indictment and the proof gathered against him indicate a potentially stronger case than the Justice Department presented against James.

"This misconduct that's being claimed is simultaneously more serious 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 tenure as Trump's security advisor, and following his 2019 White House departure, prosecutors alleged that Bolton placed the nation at danger by improperly keeping and sending sensitive documents to family members using unprotected methods, including AOL. Some of the documents were marked top secret.

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

Bolton entered a not guilty plea during a court appearance on recently to 18 distinct counts of improperly handling classified information.

Retribution or a Substantial Legal Argument?

The timing of his indictment - coming on the heels of allegations against Comey - has renewed concerns about political pressure on the justice system.

Trump previously suggested Bolton belonged in prison, and called him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his part, wrote a book about his experience in the Trump administration that was highly critical of the leader.

"There's no question that the timing of this indictment, when combined with others, has raised questions about the strength of these charges, and why these counts are being brought now," said Jamil Jaffer, founder and director of the National Security Institute.

However, he added, "if the Justice Department is capable to prove the facts stated and demonstrate the material is correctly designated, his behavior may very well have broken the statute".

Charging such a high-ranking figure for improperly handling sensitive materials is "uncommon" but not unprecedented, noted Carrie Cordero, a expert at the Center for a New American Security.

"Situations that concern sensitive materials present challenges to try, but they may and are brought against both junior and high-level officials, from occasionally," she explained.

Similarities to Investigations into Trump and Biden

Trump similarly faced allegations of wrongfully keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and hindering their recovery, but that matter was ultimately thrown out by a court official and voided by his return as president.

A independent investigator additionally found that former President Joe Biden improperly maintained sensitive materials from his period as second-in-command, but failed to criminally charge him.

Bolton's case shares characteristics to Biden's sensitive materials matters, noted Mr Lesko, who also held a senior security position at the Justice Department.

Strict protocols regulate the management of classified documents. To win a conviction, the government must demonstrate that Bolton knew the material he was transmitting was restricted, and he had to knowingly transmit it to someone not entitled to receive it.

"Because of the sensitive character of the information at question in this matter, we don't have a lot of details about the reasons the government contends elements like the personal notes and the additional information he communicated by email, and the reason there were classified," said Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Conventional Legal Action

The procedure by which the Justice Department brought this legal action will be closely examined, following Trump publicly expressed his desire to see his political opponents charged and some of those indictments materialized.

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

"The Bolton case and ultimately the charge appeared to have observed the standard procedure including the regulations and standards within the Department of Justice," he said.

Unlike Comey's brief, concise charge, Bolton's was a more "conventional" document that "clearly sets forth the details concerning the circumstances and situation here," Mr Lesko commented.

"It seems fairly consistent with a long line of cases... where public servants improperly handled and transmitted sensitive information."