🔗 Share this article

Former President Donald Trump has consistently shown his wish to see critics 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 further, it's damaging our standing and trustworthiness," the leader stated last month in a Truth Social post.

"I was impeached me, and charged me (five times!)" he declared, mentioning the multiple legal proceedings he faced after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's lawsuit.

Both have subsequently been indicted, in cases that many experts have said seem to be politically motivated and difficult to win in legal proceedings.

But the most recent allegations against a Trump critic, ex national security adviser John Bolton, differ significantly, legal specialists and former prosecutors say.

"In my opinion, contrasting Bolton's charges to James' is like comparing two different things," said Mark Lesko, a ex acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

This Specifics of the Legal Situation

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

Specialists say that while there may be political motivations to go after Bolton, the procedures used to secure an indictment and the evidence gathered against him suggest a possibly stronger legal argument than the Justice Department presented against James.

"These actions that's being claimed is simultaneously more severe and appears to have taken place over a considerable period of time," commented Carissa Byrne Hessick, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

During his tenure as Trump's security advisor, and following his 2019 White House exit, authorities alleged that Bolton placed the country at risk by wrongfully retaining and transmitting sensitive documents to relatives using unprotected methods, including AOL. Some of the documents were marked highly classified.

The indictment states that at a certain time a unauthorized user accessed to Bolton's system where files were kept and transmitted an seeming threat to cause "the largest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were released".

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a court appearance on Friday to eighteen distinct counts of mishandling classified information.

Retribution or a Substantial Case?

The schedule of his indictment - arriving on the heels of allegations against Comey - has revived questions about external influence on the justice system.

Trump once suggested Bolton belonged in jail, and called him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his role, authored a publication about his experience in the Trump government that was highly critical of the leader.

"Undoubtedly that the timing of this indictment, when paired with others, has prompted doubts about the strength of these charges, and the reason these counts are being filed now," said Jamil Jaffer, founder and director of the National Security Institute.

Nevertheless, he continued, "should the Justice Department is capable to demonstrate the allegations alleged and demonstrate the information is correctly classified, his behavior may very well have broken the law".

Prosecuting such a senior figure for improperly handling classified documents is "uncommon" but not unprecedented, said Carrie Cordero, a expert at the Center for a New American Security.

"Cases that concern classified information pose difficulties to try, but they may and are brought against both low-level and high-level officials, from occasionally," she said.

Similarities to Examinations into Former President and President

Trump similarly faced allegations of improperly storing sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and obstructing their recovery, but that case was ultimately dismissed by a federal judge and voided by his return as president.

A special counsel additionally found that ex-President Joe Biden wrongfully maintained classified documents from his time as vice president, but failed to prosecute him.

Bolton's case shares characteristics to Trump's classified documents issues, said Mr Lesko, who also held a top national security position at the Justice Department.

Rigorous protocols regulate the management of classified documents. To win a conviction, the government must demonstrate that Bolton knew the information he was sending was restricted, and he had to intentionally transmit it to someone not entitled to receive it.

"Due to the classified character of the information at question in this case, we don't have a great deal of particulars about why the government believes things like the diary entries and the additional material he communicated by electronic message, and the reason there were classified," said Mr Jaffer.

A Increasingly Conventional Legal Action

The process by which the DOJ brought this case will be under scrutiny, following Trump openly posted his desire to see his political opponents charged and several of those charges materialized.

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

"The Bolton prosecution and eventually the indictment seemed to have followed the standard process including the regulations and standards within the Department of Justice," he stated.

Unlike Comey's brief, concise charge, Bolton's was a more "traditional" filing that "clearly outlines the particulars involving the circumstances and circumstances in this instance," Mr Lesko said.

"It appears reasonably consistent with a series of cases... where government officials mishandled and shared sensitive information."