How this John Bolton Case Differs Substantially from Other Trump Opponents

Ex-President Donald Trump has consistently expressed his wish to see opponents investigated, exerting pressure on the DOJ to charge ex FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

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

"I was impeached me, and indicted me (5 times!)" he said, referencing the multiple legal proceedings he faced after departing the White House in 2021 and James's lawsuit.

Both have since been indicted, in cases that many experts have stated seem to be driven by politics and challenging to win in court.

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

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

The Details of Bolton's Legal Situation

Bolton has been formally charged on federal charges pertaining to the supposed mishandling of classified information. Since leaving the White House in 2019, he has become a vocal presidential opponent, even to call him "stunningly uninformed" and unfit for the presidency in his memoir.

Specialists say that while there may be political reasons to go after Bolton, the procedures used to secure an charge and the evidence gathered against him indicate a possibly stronger legal argument than the DOJ presented against Comey.

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

Throughout his time as Trump's security advisor, and after his 2019 White House departure, authorities claimed that Bolton put the country at danger by wrongfully retaining and sending sensitive documents to family members using insecure means, including AOL. Several of the materials were marked highly classified.

The charge alleges that at a certain time a unauthorized user accessed to Bolton's account where documents were stored and transmitted an seeming warning to cause "the biggest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".

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

Political Motivation or a Substantial Case?

The schedule of his charge - coming on the heels of allegations against James - has revived questions about external influence on the legal system.

Trump once suggested Bolton should be in jail, and described him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his part, wrote a book about his experience in the Trump administration that was highly critical of the leader.

"There's no question that the timing of this charge, when paired with others, has raised doubts about the strength of these allegations, 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 added, "if the Justice Department is able to prove the allegations alleged and show the material is correctly designated, his conduct may certainly have broken the statute".

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

"Cases that concern sensitive materials present difficulties to prosecute, but they can and are brought against equally junior and high-level officials, from occasionally," she explained.

Parallels to Investigations into Trump and Biden

Trump likewise faced charges of wrongfully storing classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and hindering their recovery, but that case was eventually thrown out by a federal judge and negated by his return as leader.

A independent investigator additionally found that former President Joe Biden wrongfully maintained sensitive materials from his period as second-in-command, but failed to prosecute him.

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

Strict procedures govern the handling of sensitive materials. To win a conviction, the government must demonstrate that Bolton knew the information he was transmitting was classified, and he had to knowingly transfer it to someone without authorization to obtain it.

"Due to the sensitive nature of the material at question in this case, we lack a great deal of particulars about the reasons the government contends things like the personal notes and the additional information he shared by email, and why there were classified," said Mr Jaffer.

A More Conventional Prosecution

The procedure by which the Justice Department brought this case will be closely examined, following Trump publicly posted his wish to see his critics prosecuted and several of those indictments materialized.

But Mr Lesko indicated in Bolton's situation, prosecutors seem to have followed protocol.

"The Bolton case and ultimately the indictment appeared to have observed the standard procedure including the regulations and standards within the DOJ," he stated.

Unlike Comey's brief, two-page charge, Bolton's was a more "traditional" document that "explicitly sets forth the details concerning the facts and situation here," Mr Lesko said.

"It appears reasonably consistent with a series of cases... where public servants improperly handled and shared sensitive information."