🔗 Share this article

Ex-President Donald Trump has consistently shown his wish to see opponents investigated, exerting influence on the Justice Department to charge former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

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

"They impeached me, and charged me (5 times!)" he said, mentioning the four criminal cases he encountered after departing the White House in 2021 and James's lawsuit.

Both have since been indicted, in cases that numerous specialists have said seem to be politically motivated and difficult to win in court.

But the latest allegations against a presidential opponent, ex national security adviser John Bolton, stand apart, legal experts and ex-prosecutors say.

"I would say, comparing Bolton's charges to Comey's is like equating two different things," stated Mark Lesko, a former acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

The Specifics of Bolton's Legal Situation

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 become a vocal Trump critic, going so far as to describe him "stunningly uninformed" and unsuitable for office in his memoir.

Experts contend that while there may be political motivations to target Bolton, the procedures used to secure an indictment and the proof gathered against him suggest a possibly more substantial case than the Justice Department presented against Comey.

"This misconduct that's being alleged is both more severe and seems to have occurred over a significant duration," commented Carissa Byrne Hessick, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

During his time as Trump's security advisor, and following his 2019 White House departure, authorities alleged that Bolton placed the nation at risk by wrongfully keeping and sending classified information to family members using insecure means, including AOL. Several of the materials were labeled top secret.

The indictment alleges that at one point a hacker gained access 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 entered a not guilty plea during a court appearance on recently to eighteen separate counts of mishandling sensitive materials.

Political Motivation or a Substantial Case?

The schedule of his charge - coming on the tails of charges against Comey - has renewed concerns about external influence on the legal system.

Trump previously implied Bolton should be in jail, and described 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 timing of this indictment, when combined with additional cases, has raised doubts about the strength of these charges, and the reason these charges are being filed at this time," said Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director of the National Security Institute.

Nevertheless, he continued, "should the DOJ is capable to prove the facts alleged and demonstrate the material is correctly designated, his behavior may certainly have broken the statute".

Charging such a senior official for improperly handling sensitive materials is "rare" but not unprecedented, said Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"Cases that concern classified information pose difficulties to try, but they can and are brought against both low-level and senior personnel, from time to time," she explained.

Parallels to Investigations into Former President and President

Trump similarly encountered allegations of wrongfully storing sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and obstructing their return, but that case was ultimately dismissed by a federal judge and voided by his re-election as president.

A special counsel also determined that former President Joe Biden improperly stored sensitive materials from his period as vice president, but did not criminally charge him.

Bolton's situation bears similarities to Trump's sensitive materials matters, noted Mr Lesko, who also held a top security role at the DOJ.

Rigorous protocols regulate the management of sensitive materials. To secure a guilty verdict, the government must demonstrate that Bolton was aware the material he was transmitting was restricted, and he had to intentionally transfer it to someone not entitled to receive it.

"Because of the classified nature of the material at issue in this matter, we lack a lot of particulars about why the prosecution believes elements like the personal notes and the additional information he shared by email, and why there were classified," said Mr Jaffer.

A More Conventional Legal Action

The procedure by which the DOJ brought this legal action will be under scrutiny, after Trump publicly posted his desire to see his critics charged and several of those indictments materialized.

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

"The Bolton prosecution and eventually the charge appeared to have followed the standard process including the rules and standards within the Department of Justice," he stated.

Unlike Comey's brief, two-page indictment, Bolton's was a more "traditional" filing that "explicitly sets forth the details involving the circumstances and situation in this instance," Mr Lesko commented.

"It seems fairly aligned with a long line of cases... where government officials improperly handled and shared sensitive information."