🔗 Share this article

Ex-President Donald Trump has consistently expressed his desire to see opponents probed, exerting pressure on the Justice Department to charge ex FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We can't delay any longer, it's killing our reputation and credibility," the leader stated last month in a social media post.

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

Both have subsequently been indicted, in situations that numerous experts have stated appear to be driven by politics and challenging to win in court.

But the latest charges against a Trump critic, ex security advisor John Bolton, differ significantly, legal experts and ex-prosecutors say.

"In my opinion, contrasting Bolton's case to Comey's is like comparing apples to oranges," said Mark Lesko, a ex acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

The Details of the Case

Bolton has been criminally indicted on federal charges related to the supposed mishandling of classified information. After leaving the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a outspoken Trump critic, even to describe him "stunningly uninformed" and unsuitable for office in his memoir.

Specialists contend that while there may be political motivations to target Bolton, the methods used to secure an indictment and the evidence gathered against him suggest a potentially more substantial case than the Justice Department brought against Comey.

"These actions that's being claimed is both more serious and appears to have occurred over a considerable period of time," commented 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 exit, prosecutors claimed that Bolton put the country at danger by improperly keeping and transmitting sensitive documents to family members using unprotected methods, including AOL. Some of the documents were labeled top secret.

The indictment alleges that at a certain time a unauthorized user gained access to Bolton's system where documents were stored and sent an apparent warning to cause "the biggest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

Bolton entered a not guilty plea during a court appearance on Friday to 18 distinct charges of improperly handling classified information.

Political Motivation or a Strong Case?

The timing of his indictment - coming on the tails of charges against James - has revived questions about political pressure on the justice system.

Trump once implied Bolton should be in prison, and called him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his part, authored a publication about his time in the Trump government that was sharply negative of the leader.

"There's no question that the schedule of this indictment, when paired with additional cases, has prompted doubts about the validity of these charges, and why these counts are being filed now," stated Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director of the National Security Institute.

However, he added, "should the Justice Department is able to demonstrate the facts stated and show the material is correctly designated, his conduct may very well have broken the law".

Charging such a senior figure for mishandling sensitive materials is "uncommon" but not unprecedented, said Carrie Cordero, a expert at the Center for a New American Security.

"Situations that involve sensitive materials present difficulties to prosecute, but they can and are filed against both low-level and high-level officials, from occasionally," she said.

Similarities to Investigations into Former President and Biden

Trump likewise faced allegations of wrongfully storing classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and obstructing their return, but that case was ultimately dismissed by a court official and voided by his return as leader.

A special counsel also found that former President Joe Biden wrongfully maintained sensitive materials from his period as second-in-command, but did not criminally charge him.

Bolton's case bears similarities to Trump's sensitive materials issues, said 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 conviction, the prosecution must prove that Bolton was aware the information he was transmitting was classified, 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 matter, we don't have a great deal 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 restricted," explained Mr Jaffer.

A More Traditional Legal Action

The process by which the Justice Department brought this case will be closely examined, after Trump openly expressed his wish to see his political opponents prosecuted and several of those charges came to fruition.

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

"This Bolton prosecution and ultimately the charge appeared to have observed the regular process including the regulations 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 "clearly sets forth the particulars concerning the facts and situation here," Mr Lesko said.

"It appears reasonably aligned with a series of precedents... where government officials improperly handled and transmitted sensitive information."