Ex-President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire 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 damaging our standing and trustworthiness," the leader stated recently in a social media message.
"I was impeached twice, and indicted me (five times!)" he said, referencing the multiple legal proceedings he faced after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's lawsuit.
Each have since been charged, in cases that many experts have said seem to be politically motivated and difficult to succeed in court.
But the most recent charges against a Trump critic, former national security adviser John Bolton, differ significantly, legal experts and ex-prosecutors assert.
"In my opinion, comparing Bolton's case to James' is like comparing apples to oranges," said Mark Lesko, a former acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
The Specifics of Bolton's Legal Situation
Bolton has been criminally indicted on national allegations related to the supposed mishandling of classified information. After leaving the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a vocal presidential opponent, even to call him "stunningly uninformed" and unsuitable for office in his book.
Experts contend that while there may be political motivations to go after Bolton, the procedures used to obtain an charge and the evidence gathered against him indicate a possibly more substantial case than the DOJ presented against Comey.
"This misconduct that's being claimed is simultaneously more severe and appears to have taken place over a significant period of time," 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 exit, authorities alleged that Bolton placed the nation at danger by improperly keeping and sending sensitive documents to family members using unprotected methods, including AOL. Several of the materials were marked highly classified.
The indictment alleges that at a certain time a unauthorized user accessed to Bolton's system where files were kept and transmitted an apparent warning to cause "the largest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were released".
Bolton entered a not guilty plea during a court appearance on Friday to 18 distinct charges of mishandling sensitive materials.
Political Motivation or a Substantial Case?
The schedule of his charge - arriving on the tails of allegations against James - has renewed concerns about external influence on the legal system.
Trump once implied Bolton should be in jail, and described him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his role, wrote a book about his experience in the Trump government that was highly critical of the leader.
"There's no question that the timing of this charge, when combined with additional cases, has raised questions about the validity of these charges, and the reason these charges are being brought at this time," 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 information is correctly designated, his conduct may certainly have broken the law".
Charging such a senior official for improperly handling sensitive materials is "uncommon" but not unprecedented, 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 filed against equally low-level and high-level personnel, from occasionally," she said.
Parallels to Investigations into Trump and President
Trump similarly encountered allegations of improperly keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and obstructing their return, but that matter was ultimately dismissed by a court official and voided by his re-election as leader.
A independent investigator additionally found that ex-President Joe Biden wrongfully maintained classified documents from his period as second-in-command, but did not criminally charge him.
Bolton's situation bears similarities to Trump's classified documents issues, noted Mr Lesko, who previously held a senior security role at the Justice Department.
Rigorous protocols govern the management of classified documents. To win a conviction, the government must prove that Bolton was aware the material he was sending was classified, and he had to knowingly transmit it to someone without authorization to obtain 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 believes things like the diary entries and the other information he communicated by email, and why there were restricted," said Mr Jaffer.
A More Traditional Prosecution
The process by which the Justice Department brought this case will be closely examined, after Trump openly expressed his desire to see his critics charged and several of those charges materialized.
But Mr Lesko indicated in Bolton's case, authorities appear to have followed protocol.
"The Bolton case and eventually the charge appeared to have observed the standard procedure including the rules and norms within the Department of Justice," he said.
Unlike Comey's brief, concise charge, Bolton's was a increasingly "conventional" filing that "explicitly outlines the particulars concerning the facts and situation here," Mr Lesko said.
"It seems fairly consistent with a series of precedents... where government officials mishandled and shared classified material."
