🔗 Share this article

Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to see critics probed, applying pressure on the DOJ to charge former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We can't delay further, it's damaging our standing and credibility," the president wrote last month in a social media message.

"I was impeached twice, and charged me (5 times!)" he declared, mentioning the multiple legal proceedings he faced after departing the White House in 2021 and James's lawsuit.

Each have since been indicted, in cases that many specialists have said appear to be driven by politics and challenging to succeed in court.

But the latest allegations against a Trump critic, ex national security adviser John Bolton, differ significantly, legal specialists and former prosecutors say.

"I would say, comparing Bolton's charges to Comey's is like comparing apples to oranges," said Mark Lesko, a ex 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 sensitive materials. After departing the White House in 2019, he has become a outspoken presidential opponent, even to call him "stunningly uninformed" and unfit for office in his memoir.

Experts contend that while there may be political reasons to go after Bolton, the methods used to secure an charge and the evidence gathered against him suggest a potentially stronger case than the Justice Department brought against James.

"These actions that's being claimed is both 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 security advisor, and following his 2019 White House exit, authorities alleged that Bolton put the nation at risk by wrongfully retaining and transmitting sensitive documents to family members using insecure means, including AOL. Several of the documents were marked top secret.

The indictment states that at a certain time a hacker gained access to Bolton's system where files were stored and transmitted an seeming warning to cause "the biggest controversy since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were released".

Bolton entered a not guilty plea during a hearing on Friday to eighteen separate charges of improperly handling classified information.

Retribution or a Substantial Legal Argument?

The timing of his charge - arriving on the tails of allegations against Comey - has renewed questions about political pressure on the legal system.

Trump once suggested Bolton belonged in prison, and called him a "disreputable person". 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 charge, when combined with additional cases, has prompted doubts about the validity of these charges, and why these charges are being filed now," stated Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director of the National Security Institute.

However, he added, "if the DOJ is capable to prove the facts alleged and demonstrate the information is properly classified, his conduct may very well have broken the law".

Prosecuting such a senior figure for improperly handling sensitive materials is "rare" but not without precedent, said Carrie Cordero, a expert at the Center for a New American Security.

"Situations that concern classified information present difficulties to prosecute, but they may and are filed against equally junior and senior officials, from time to time," she said.

Similarities to Examinations into Trump and President

Trump similarly encountered allegations of wrongfully storing classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and obstructing their recovery, but that matter was ultimately dismissed by a federal judge and voided by his re-election as president.

A independent investigator additionally found that ex-President Joe Biden wrongfully maintained classified documents from his period as second-in-command, but failed to prosecute him.

Bolton's case shares characteristics to Biden's sensitive materials matters, noted Mr Lesko, who also held a top national security role at the DOJ.

Strict protocols govern the management of sensitive materials. To secure a conviction, the prosecution must prove that Bolton was aware the material he was sending was classified, and he had to intentionally transfer it to someone not entitled to receive it.

"Because of the sensitive nature of the material at question in this matter, we don't have a great deal of details about the reasons the prosecution contends elements like the diary entries and the other information he communicated by electronic message, and why there were restricted," explained Mr Jaffer.

A More Traditional Legal Action

The process by which the Justice Department brought this case will be closely examined, following Trump openly posted his wish to see his critics charged and several of those charges came to fruition.

But Mr Lesko indicated in Bolton's situation, authorities seem to have adhered to protocol.

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

In contrast to Comey's brief, concise indictment, Bolton's was a increasingly "traditional" document that "explicitly sets forth the details concerning the circumstances and circumstances here," Mr Lesko commented.

"It appears reasonably consistent with a long line of precedents... where public servants mishandled and shared sensitive information."