🔗 Share this article

Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his wish to see critics probed, exerting pressure 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 reputation and credibility," the president wrote recently in a Truth Social post.

"I was impeached me, and charged me (five times!)" he said, referencing the multiple legal proceedings he encountered after departing the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

Each have subsequently been charged, in cases that many specialists have said seem to be politically motivated and difficult to succeed in court.

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

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

This Details of Bolton's Case

Bolton has been criminally indicted on national allegations related to the supposed improper handling of classified information. After leaving the White House in 2019, he has become a vocal Trump critic, going so far as to call him "remarkably ignorant" and unfit for office in his memoir.

Specialists say that while there may be political motivations to target Bolton, the methods used to secure an indictment and the proof compiled against him indicate a potentially stronger case than the DOJ brought against Comey.

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

Throughout his tenure as Trump's security advisor, and after his 2019 White House exit, prosecutors claimed that Bolton put the country at risk by improperly keeping and transmitting classified information to family members using unprotected methods, including AOL. Several of the materials were marked highly classified.

The indictment states that at one point a unauthorized user gained access to Bolton's system where documents were stored and transmitted an seeming threat to cause "the largest controversy since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were released".

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a court appearance on recently to 18 separate counts of mishandling sensitive materials.

Retribution or a Substantial Legal Argument?

The schedule of his charge - coming on the heels of charges against Comey - has revived concerns about political pressure on the legal system.

Trump previously suggested Bolton should be in jail, and called him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his part, authored a book about his experience in the Trump government that was sharply negative of the president.

"Undoubtedly that the schedule of this indictment, when paired with others, has raised questions about the strength of these charges, and the reason these charges are being brought now," stated Jamil Jaffer, founder and director of the National Security Institute.

Nevertheless, he continued, "if the DOJ is able to prove the allegations stated and demonstrate the material is properly designated, his conduct may very well have broken the law".

Prosecuting such a high-ranking official for improperly handling sensitive materials is "uncommon" but not without precedent, noted Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

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

Parallels to Investigations into Trump and President

Trump similarly encountered charges of improperly storing sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and hindering their return, but that case was eventually thrown out by a court official and voided by his return as president.

A special counsel also found that former President Joe Biden wrongfully stored classified documents from his time as vice president, but did not prosecute him.

Bolton's case shares characteristics to Trump's sensitive materials issues, noted Mr Lesko, who previously held a senior national security position at the DOJ.

Strict protocols govern the management of sensitive materials. To secure a conviction, the prosecution must prove that Bolton knew the material he was transmitting was classified, and he had to intentionally transfer it to someone without authorization to receive it.

"Due to the classified nature of the information at question in this matter, we don't have a great deal of particulars about why the prosecution contends things like the personal notes and the other material he shared by electronic message, and the reason there were restricted," explained Mr Jaffer.

A More Conventional Prosecution

The process by which the DOJ initiated this case will be under scrutiny, following Trump openly expressed his desire to see his critics prosecuted and several of those indictments came to fruition.

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

"This Bolton prosecution and eventually the indictment appeared to have observed the regular process including the rules and norms within the DOJ," he said.

In contrast to Comey's brief, concise charge, Bolton's was a more "conventional" filing that "explicitly outlines the details involving the facts and situation in this instance," Mr Lesko said.

"It appears reasonably consistent with a long line of precedents... where public servants improperly handled and transmitted classified material."