How this John Bolton Legal Situation Differs Substantially from Additional Trump Opponents

Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly shown his wish to see critics probed, exerting pressure on the DOJ to charge ex FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

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

"They impeached twice, and charged me (5 times!)" he said, referencing the four criminal cases he encountered after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.

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

But the most recent charges against a Trump critic, former security advisor John Bolton, stand apart, legal experts and ex-prosecutors assert.

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

This Details of Bolton's Case

Bolton has been formally charged on federal charges related to the alleged improper handling of classified information. After departing 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.

Specialists say that while there may be political reasons to go after Bolton, the procedures used to obtain an indictment and the evidence gathered against him suggest a potentially stronger legal argument than the Justice Department brought against Comey.

"This misconduct that's being claimed is both more serious and appears to have occurred over a considerable period of time," said Carissa Byrne Hessick, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

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

The indictment alleges that at one point a unauthorized user accessed to Bolton's account where files were kept and transmitted an seeming warning to cause "the largest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

Bolton pleaded not guilty during a hearing on Friday to eighteen distinct counts of improperly handling classified information.

Retribution or a Strong Case?

The schedule of his indictment - coming on the heels of allegations against Comey - has renewed concerns about political pressure on the legal system.

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

"Undoubtedly that the schedule of this charge, when combined with others, has raised doubts about the strength of these allegations, and why these counts are being brought now," stated Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director of the National Security Institute.

However, he continued, "should the Justice Department is able to demonstrate the allegations alleged and show the material is correctly designated, his behavior may certainly have broken the statute".

Charging such a senior figure 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 sensitive materials present difficulties to try, but they may and are brought against both junior and high-level officials, from time to time," she said.

Parallels to Investigations into Trump and President

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

A special counsel also found that former President Joe Biden improperly stored sensitive materials from his period as second-in-command, but failed to criminally charge him.

Bolton's situation shares characteristics to Trump's sensitive materials matters, noted Mr Lesko, who previously held a senior security position at the Justice Department.

Rigorous procedures regulate the handling of sensitive materials. To win a guilty verdict, the prosecution must prove that Bolton was aware the material he was sending was classified, and he had to knowingly transfer it to someone without authorization to receive it.

"Because of the sensitive nature of the information at question in this case, we lack a lot of details about the reasons the government contends things like the diary entries and the other material he shared by electronic message, and why there were restricted," explained Mr Jaffer.

A More Traditional Legal Action

The procedure by which the DOJ brought this case will be under scrutiny, after Trump publicly expressed his wish to see his critics charged and some of those charges materialized.

But Mr Lesko indicated in Bolton's case, prosecutors appear to have followed protocol.

"The Bolton prosecution and ultimately the charge appeared to have followed the regular process including the regulations and norms within the Department of Justice," he said.

In contrast to Comey's short, two-page indictment, Bolton's was a more "traditional" filing that "explicitly sets forth the particulars concerning the facts and circumstances in this instance," Mr Lesko said.

"It seems fairly consistent with a series of cases... where government officials improperly handled and transmitted sensitive information."