🔗 Share this article

Former President Donald Trump has consistently shown his wish to see opponents investigated, applying pressure on the Justice Department to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We can't delay further, it's killing our reputation and credibility," the leader wrote last month in a social media message.

"They impeached me, and charged me (five times!)" he declared, mentioning the four criminal cases he encountered after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

Each have since been indicted, in cases that many experts have stated appear to be driven by politics and difficult to succeed in legal proceedings.

But the latest allegations against a Trump critic, former security advisor John Bolton, stand apart, legal specialists and former prosecutors assert.

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

This Specifics of Bolton's Case

Bolton has been criminally indicted on federal charges pertaining to the supposed improper handling of classified information. After leaving the White House in 2019, he has become a outspoken Trump critic, going so far as to describe him "stunningly uninformed" and unsuitable for the presidency in his book.

Experts say that while there may be political reasons to target Bolton, the methods used to obtain an charge and the evidence gathered against him suggest a possibly stronger legal argument than the DOJ brought against Comey.

"This misconduct that's being alleged is both more serious and seems to have occurred over a significant duration," commented Carissa Byrne Hessick, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Throughout his time as Trump's national security adviser, and following his 2019 White House departure, prosecutors claimed that Bolton placed the country at danger by improperly retaining and sending sensitive documents to relatives using insecure means, including AOL. Some of the documents were labeled highly classified.

The charge alleges that at one point a unauthorized user accessed to Bolton's system where documents were stored and transmitted an apparent warning to cause "the largest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were released".

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a court appearance on recently to 18 separate charges of improperly handling classified information.

Political Motivation or a Strong Case?

The timing of his indictment - arriving on the heels of allegations against Comey - has revived questions about political pressure on the legal system.

Trump once suggested Bolton belonged in prison, and called him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his role, authored a book about his experience in the Trump government that was highly critical of the president.

"Undoubtedly that the schedule of this charge, when combined with others, has raised doubts about the strength of these charges, and the reason these charges are being brought now," said Jamil Jaffer, creator and executive director of the National Security Institute.

However, he continued, "if the Justice Department is capable to demonstrate the allegations alleged and demonstrate the material is correctly designated, his conduct may very well have broken the statute".

Charging such a high-ranking official 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 concern classified information present challenges to try, but they may and are brought against equally junior and high-level personnel, from time to time," she said.

Similarities to Examinations into Trump and Biden

Trump similarly encountered allegations of improperly storing classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and obstructing their return, but that case was ultimately dismissed by a court official and negated by his return as leader.

A independent investigator additionally found that ex-President Joe Biden improperly stored classified documents from his time as vice president, but failed to prosecute him.

Bolton's case shares characteristics to Trump's classified documents issues, said Mr Lesko, who also held a top security position at the DOJ.

Rigorous protocols regulate the management of sensitive materials. To win a conviction, the government must demonstrate that Bolton was aware the information he was sending was classified, and he had to intentionally transmit it to someone not entitled to obtain it.

"Because of the classified nature of the information at issue in this case, we lack a lot of details about the reasons the government believes things like the personal notes and the other material he communicated by email, and why there were restricted," said Mr Jaffer.

A More Traditional Legal Action

The procedure by which the DOJ initiated this case will be under scrutiny, following Trump openly posted his wish to see his critics prosecuted and some of those charges came to fruition.

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

"This Bolton prosecution and ultimately the charge appeared to have observed the regular process including the rules and standards within the Department of Justice," he stated.

In contrast to Comey's short, two-page indictment, Bolton's was a increasingly "conventional" filing that "explicitly outlines the particulars involving the circumstances and circumstances here," Mr Lesko commented.

"It appears reasonably consistent with a long line of cases... where government officials mishandled and transmitted classified material."