🔗 Share this article

Former President Donald Trump has consistently expressed his wish to see critics probed, applying pressure on the DOJ to prosecute former 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 charged me (5 times!)" he declared, mentioning the multiple legal proceedings he faced after departing the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

Both have since been indicted, in cases that numerous experts have stated seem to be politically motivated and difficult to succeed in court.

But the most recent charges against a presidential opponent, former security advisor John Bolton, differ significantly, legal specialists and former prosecutors say.

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

This Specifics of the Case

Bolton has been formally charged on federal charges pertaining to the alleged improper handling of sensitive materials. After leaving the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a vocal Trump critic, going so far as to call him "stunningly uninformed" and unsuitable for office in his memoir.

Specialists contend that while there may be political reasons to target Bolton, the methods used to secure an indictment and the proof compiled against him suggest a possibly more substantial legal argument than the Justice Department presented against Comey.

"This misconduct that's being claimed is simultaneously more serious and seems to have taken place over a significant period of time," 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 after his 2019 White House exit, authorities claimed that Bolton put the country at danger by wrongfully retaining and sending classified information to family members using insecure means, including AOL. Several of the documents were labeled top secret.

The charge alleges that at a certain time a hacker gained access to Bolton's account where documents were kept and transmitted an apparent warning to cause "the largest controversy since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were released".

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a court appearance on recently to eighteen separate charges of improperly handling sensitive materials.

Retribution or a Substantial Legal Argument?

The timing of his charge - arriving on the tails of allegations against James - has renewed questions about political pressure on the justice system.

Trump previously suggested Bolton should be in jail, and called him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his role, authored a publication about his time in the Trump administration that was highly critical of the president.

"There's no question that the timing of this charge, when paired with additional cases, has raised doubts about the strength of these allegations, and the reason these counts are being brought now," stated Jamil Jaffer, founder and director of the National Security Institute.

Nevertheless, he continued, "if the Justice Department is capable to demonstrate the facts stated and show the material is correctly classified, his conduct may certainly have broken the law".

Charging such a high-ranking official for mishandling classified documents is "rare" but not unprecedented, said Carrie Cordero, a expert at the Center for a New American Security.

"Situations that concern classified information present challenges to prosecute, but they can and are filed against both low-level and high-level officials, from occasionally," she said.

Parallels to Examinations into Trump and Biden

Trump likewise encountered charges of wrongfully keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and hindering their recovery, but that matter was ultimately dismissed by a federal judge and negated by his return as president.

A independent investigator additionally determined that ex-President Joe Biden improperly stored sensitive materials from his period as second-in-command, but did not prosecute him.

Bolton's situation shares characteristics to Trump's classified documents issues, noted Mr Lesko, who previously held a top national security role at the Justice Department.

Rigorous procedures govern the management of classified documents. To secure a guilty verdict, the prosecution must demonstrate that Bolton knew the material he was sending was restricted, and he had to intentionally transmit it to someone not entitled to receive it.

"Due to the classified nature of the material at issue in this case, we lack a great deal of details about the reasons the prosecution believes things like the personal notes and the additional information 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 case will be closely examined, after Trump publicly posted his wish to see his political opponents prosecuted and some of those indictments materialized.

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

"This Bolton prosecution and ultimately the indictment appeared to have observed the regular procedure including the rules and norms within the Department of Justice," he stated.

In contrast to Comey's short, concise charge, Bolton's was a more "traditional" document that "clearly sets forth the details involving the facts and circumstances in this instance," Mr Lesko commented.

"It appears reasonably consistent with a series of cases... where public servants mishandled and transmitted sensitive information."