🔗 Share this article

Former President Donald Trump has consistently shown his wish 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 any longer, it's killing our reputation and trustworthiness," the president wrote recently in a social media post.

"I was impeached me, and indicted me (5 times!)" he declared, mentioning the multiple legal proceedings he encountered after departing the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

Both have since been charged, in cases that numerous experts have said appear to be driven by politics and difficult to succeed in court.

But the latest allegations against a presidential opponent, former national security adviser John Bolton, differ significantly, legal specialists and ex-prosecutors assert.

"In my opinion, comparing Bolton's case to Comey's is like comparing apples to oranges," stated Mark Lesko, a former federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York.

The Details of the Case

Bolton has been formally charged on federal charges pertaining to the supposed improper handling of classified information. After leaving the White House in 2019, he has become a vocal presidential opponent, going so far as to describe him "remarkably ignorant" and unfit for office in his memoir.

Experts contend that while there may be political motivations to go after Bolton, the procedures used to secure an indictment and the proof gathered against him indicate a potentially more substantial legal argument than the DOJ presented against James.

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

During his tenure as Trump's national security adviser, and following his 2019 White House exit, authorities alleged that Bolton put the nation at danger by improperly retaining and transmitting sensitive documents to relatives using insecure means, including AOL. Several of the documents were marked top secret.

The charge states that at a certain time a hacker accessed to Bolton's system where documents were stored and sent an seeming warning to cause "the largest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

Bolton entered a not guilty plea during a court appearance on recently to 18 distinct charges of mishandling sensitive materials.

Retribution or a Strong Case?

The timing of his indictment - arriving on the tails of charges against Comey - has renewed questions about external influence on the legal system.

Trump once implied Bolton belonged in prison, and described him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his role, authored a publication about his time in the Trump government that was sharply negative of the leader.

"Undoubtedly that the timing of this indictment, when paired with others, has raised questions about the validity of these allegations, and the reason these counts are being filed now," stated Jamil Jaffer, founder and director of the National Security Institute.

Nevertheless, he continued, "should the DOJ is capable to prove the allegations stated and demonstrate the information is correctly classified, his behavior may certainly have violated the statute".

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

"Cases that concern classified information pose difficulties to prosecute, but they can and are brought against equally low-level and senior officials, from occasionally," she said.

Parallels to Examinations into Former President and Biden

Trump similarly faced charges of wrongfully keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and hindering their return, but that case was ultimately dismissed by a court official and negated by his return as president.

A independent investigator additionally found that former President Joe Biden improperly maintained classified documents from his period as vice president, but failed to prosecute him.

Bolton's case bears similarities to Biden's sensitive materials issues, said Mr Lesko, who also held a top national security position at the Justice Department.

Strict protocols regulate the management of classified documents. To win a guilty verdict, the government must demonstrate that Bolton was aware the information he was sending was restricted, and he had to knowingly transmit it to someone without authorization to receive it.

"Due to the sensitive character of the material at issue in this case, we don't have a lot of particulars about why the government believes elements like the personal notes and the other material he shared by email, and the reason there were classified," said Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Conventional Prosecution

The process by which the DOJ initiated this legal action will be closely examined, following Trump openly posted his wish to see his critics prosecuted and several of those indictments materialized.

But Mr Lesko indicated in Bolton's situation, prosecutors appear to have followed protocol.

"The Bolton case and eventually the charge seemed to have followed the standard procedure including the regulations and norms within the Department of Justice," he stated.

Unlike Comey's brief, concise indictment, Bolton's was a more "traditional" filing that "explicitly sets forth the details involving the circumstances and circumstances here," Mr Lesko commented.

"It seems reasonably consistent with a long line of cases... where public servants improperly handled and transmitted sensitive information."