🔗 Share this article

Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to see critics investigated, applying influence on the Justice Department to prosecute ex FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We can't delay any longer, it's killing our standing and credibility," the president stated last month in a Truth Social message.

"They impeached twice, and indicted me (5 times!)" he declared, referencing the four criminal cases he encountered after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

Each have subsequently been indicted, in situations that numerous specialists have said seem to be driven by politics and challenging to succeed in court.

But the most recent allegations against a presidential opponent, ex security advisor John Bolton, differ significantly, legal specialists and ex-prosecutors say.

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

This Details of the Case

Bolton has been formally charged on national allegations related to the supposed improper handling of classified information. Since departing the White House in 2019, he has become a vocal presidential opponent, going so far as to describe him "stunningly uninformed" and unsuitable 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 compiled against him suggest a potentially more substantial legal argument than the DOJ brought against James.

"These actions that's being alleged is simultaneously more severe and seems to have taken place over a considerable duration," said Carissa Byrne Hessick, a academic at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Throughout his time as Trump's national security adviser, and after his 2019 White House departure, prosecutors alleged that Bolton placed the country at danger by wrongfully retaining and transmitting classified information to relatives using insecure means, including AOL. Some of the materials were marked highly classified.

The indictment states that at one point a hacker gained access to Bolton's account where files were kept and sent an seeming warning to cause "the largest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were released".

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a hearing on Friday to 18 separate counts of mishandling classified information.

Retribution or a Substantial Legal Argument?

The schedule of his indictment - arriving on the heels of allegations against James - has renewed questions about political pressure on the legal system.

Trump previously implied Bolton belonged in jail, and called him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his part, wrote a book about his time in the Trump administration that was sharply negative of the president.

"There's no question that the schedule of this charge, when paired with others, has prompted doubts about the strength of these allegations, and why these counts are being filed at this time," stated Jamil Jaffer, founder and director of the National Security Institute.

However, he added, "should the DOJ is able to prove the facts alleged and show the information is correctly designated, his conduct may very well have violated the statute".

Prosecuting such a high-ranking official for improperly handling classified documents is "uncommon" but not unprecedented, said Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"Cases that involve classified information pose difficulties to try, but they may and are brought against both junior and senior officials, from occasionally," she explained.

Parallels to Examinations into Trump and President

Trump likewise faced charges of wrongfully storing classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and hindering their recovery, but that case was ultimately thrown out by a court official and negated by his re-election as president.

A independent investigator also determined that ex-President Joe Biden improperly stored sensitive materials from his time as second-in-command, but did not criminally charge him.

Bolton's case shares characteristics to Trump's classified documents issues, noted Mr Lesko, who previously held a senior security position at the Justice Department.

Rigorous protocols govern the handling of sensitive materials. To secure a conviction, the prosecution must demonstrate that Bolton knew the information he was transmitting was restricted, and he had to knowingly transmit it to someone not entitled to receive it.

"Because of the sensitive nature of the material at issue in this case, we lack a great deal of particulars about the reasons the prosecution believes things like the personal notes and the additional information he shared by electronic message, and the reason there were classified," explained Mr Jaffer.

A More Traditional Legal Action

The procedure by which the DOJ initiated this case will be under scrutiny, after Trump openly posted his desire to see his political opponents prosecuted and some of those indictments came to fruition.

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

"This Bolton case and eventually the charge seemed to have observed the standard procedure including the regulations and norms within the DOJ," he stated.

In contrast to Comey's brief, concise indictment, Bolton's was a more "traditional" filing that "explicitly sets forth the details concerning the facts and situation here," Mr Lesko said.

"It seems fairly aligned with a long line of precedents... where public servants mishandled and transmitted classified material."