🔗 Share this article

Ex-President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his wish to see opponents probed, exerting pressure 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 reputation and trustworthiness," the leader stated recently in a Truth Social post.

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

Each have since been charged, in cases that many specialists have said seem to be politically motivated and challenging to win in legal proceedings.

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

"I would say, comparing Bolton's case to Comey's is like comparing apples to oranges," said Mark Lesko, a former acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

This Specifics of the Case

Bolton has been formally charged on national allegations related to the supposed mishandling of sensitive materials. Since leaving the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a outspoken presidential opponent, even to describe him "stunningly uninformed" and unsuitable for office in his memoir.

Experts contend that while there may be political motivations to target Bolton, the procedures used to obtain an indictment and the proof gathered against him indicate a potentially stronger legal argument than the Justice Department presented against James.

"This misconduct that's being alleged is both more severe and appears to have taken place over a considerable duration," commented Carissa Byrne Hessick, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Throughout his tenure as Trump's national security adviser, and following his 2019 White House exit, authorities alleged that Bolton put the country at risk by wrongfully retaining and transmitting sensitive documents to relatives using insecure means, including AOL. Some of the materials were marked top secret.

The indictment alleges that at one point a hacker accessed to Bolton's system where files were kept and transmitted an seeming threat to cause "the biggest controversy since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

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 tails of allegations against James - has revived questions about political pressure on the justice system.

Trump once implied Bolton should be in prison, and described him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his role, wrote a book about his experience in the Trump government that was sharply negative of the president.

"Undoubtedly that the schedule of this charge, when paired with others, has prompted doubts about the strength of these allegations, and the reason these charges are being brought at this time," stated Jamil Jaffer, creator and director of the National Security Institute.

Nevertheless, he continued, "if the Justice Department is able to demonstrate the facts stated and show the material is properly classified, his conduct may very well have broken the statute".

Charging such a high-ranking official for mishandling classified documents is "rare" but not without precedent, said Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"Situations that concern classified information pose challenges to try, but they can and are filed against equally junior and senior officials, from time to time," she explained.

Similarities to Examinations into Former President and President

Trump similarly encountered allegations of improperly keeping sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and hindering their recovery, but that matter was eventually dismissed by a federal judge and negated by his re-election as leader.

A special counsel also found that former President Joe Biden improperly stored sensitive materials from his period as vice president, but did not criminally charge him.

Bolton's case bears similarities to Trump's sensitive materials matters, noted Mr Lesko, who also held a top national security role at the Justice Department.

Rigorous protocols regulate the management of classified documents. To secure a guilty verdict, the prosecution must prove that Bolton knew the information he was transmitting was restricted, and he had to intentionally transmit it to someone not entitled to receive it.

"Because of the classified character of the material at question in this matter, we lack a great deal of particulars about why the government believes elements like the diary entries and the other material he communicated by electronic message, and why there were restricted," said Mr Jaffer.

A More Conventional Legal Action

The procedure by which the Justice Department brought this legal action will be closely examined, following Trump publicly posted his wish to see his critics prosecuted and some of those charges came to fruition.

But Mr Lesko said in Bolton's case, authorities seem to have followed standard procedure.

"This Bolton prosecution and eventually the indictment seemed to have observed the regular process including the regulations and standards within the Department of Justice," he said.

In contrast to Comey's short, two-page charge, Bolton's was a more "conventional" filing that "clearly sets forth the details concerning the circumstances and circumstances here," Mr Lesko said.

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