🔗 Share this article

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

"We cannot postpone further, it's killing our reputation and trustworthiness," the leader stated last month in a social media message.

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

Each have since been charged, in cases that many experts have said seem to be driven by politics and challenging to win in court.

But the latest charges against a presidential opponent, former security advisor John Bolton, stand apart, legal experts and ex-prosecutors assert.

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

The Specifics of the Case

Bolton has been formally charged on federal charges pertaining to the alleged improper handling of sensitive materials. Since departing the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a outspoken presidential opponent, going so far as to call him "stunningly uninformed" and unfit for the presidency in his memoir.

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

"These actions that's being alleged is simultaneously more severe and appears 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.

Throughout his tenure as Trump's national security adviser, and following his 2019 White House exit, authorities alleged that Bolton put the nation at risk by wrongfully keeping and sending classified information to relatives using insecure means, including AOL. Several of the materials were marked top secret.

The charge alleges that at one point a hacker gained access to Bolton's system where files were kept and transmitted an seeming warning to cause "the largest scandal 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 Strong Case?

The timing of his indictment - coming on the heels of allegations against James - has revived questions about political pressure on the legal system.

Trump previously suggested Bolton belonged in jail, and described him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his part, wrote a book about his experience in the Trump administration that was sharply negative of the president.

"Undoubtedly that the timing of this indictment, when paired with additional cases, has raised doubts about the strength of these allegations, and why these counts are being brought at this time," stated Jamil Jaffer, creator and director of the National Security Institute.

Nevertheless, he continued, "if the DOJ is capable to prove the allegations alleged and demonstrate the information is properly classified, his behavior may certainly have violated the law".

Prosecuting such a senior official for mishandling sensitive materials is "uncommon" but not without precedent, noted Carrie Cordero, a expert at the Center for a New American Security.

"Cases that involve classified information present difficulties to try, but they may and are filed against both low-level and senior officials, from occasionally," she explained.

Similarities to Examinations into Former President and President

Trump similarly encountered charges of wrongfully storing sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and hindering their return, but that matter was eventually dismissed by a court official and voided by his return as president.

A independent investigator also determined that former President Joe Biden improperly maintained classified documents from his time as second-in-command, but failed to criminally charge him.

Bolton's situation bears similarities to Trump's classified documents issues, noted Mr Lesko, who previously held a senior national security position at the Justice Department.

Strict protocols regulate the handling of classified documents. To win a guilty verdict, the prosecution must prove that Bolton knew the information he was transmitting was classified, and he had to knowingly transmit it to someone not entitled to obtain it.

"Due to the classified character of the material at question in this matter, we don't have a great deal of details about why the government contends elements like the personal notes and the other information he communicated by email, and the reason there were classified," said Mr Jaffer.

A More Traditional Prosecution

The procedure by which the DOJ initiated this case will be under scrutiny, following Trump openly posted his desire to see his critics charged and some of those indictments materialized.

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

"This Bolton case and eventually the charge seemed to have observed the standard process including the rules and standards within the Department of Justice," he stated.

In contrast to Comey's brief, concise charge, Bolton's was a increasingly "conventional" filing that "explicitly sets forth the details concerning the circumstances and circumstances here," Mr Lesko said.

"It seems reasonably consistent with a series of precedents... where government officials mishandled and transmitted classified material."