Why this Bolton Legal Situation Differs Substantially from Additional Former President Critics
Ex-President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his wish to see critics probed, applying influence on the DOJ to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
"We cannot postpone further, it's damaging our reputation and credibility," the president wrote last month in a Truth Social message.
"I was impeached twice, and indicted me (5 times!)" he declared, referencing the four criminal cases he encountered after departing the White House in 2021 and James's civil case.
Each have subsequently been charged, in cases that many experts have said appear to be politically motivated and challenging to win in legal proceedings.
But the most recent charges against a presidential opponent, former security advisor John Bolton, stand apart, legal specialists and ex-prosecutors assert.
"I would say, contrasting Bolton's charges to Comey's is like comparing apples to oranges," stated Mark Lesko, a ex acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
The Specifics of Bolton's Legal Situation
Bolton has been formally charged on national allegations related to the supposed improper handling of sensitive materials. Since leaving the White House in 2019, he has emerged as a vocal Trump critic, even to describe him "remarkably ignorant" and unsuitable for office in his book.
Specialists say that while there may be political motivations to go after Bolton, the methods used to obtain an indictment and the evidence compiled against him suggest a possibly stronger legal argument than the Justice Department brought against James.
"These actions that's being claimed is both more serious and appears to have taken place over a significant period of time," commented Carissa Byrne Hessick, a academic at the University of North Carolina School of Law.
During his time as Trump's security advisor, and following his 2019 White House exit, prosecutors claimed that Bolton put the country at danger by wrongfully keeping and sending classified information to family members using unprotected methods, including AOL. Several of the documents were marked top secret.
The indictment alleges that at a certain time a hacker accessed to Bolton's account where files were kept and sent an apparent threat to cause "the biggest scandal since Hillary [Clinton]'s emails were leaked".
Bolton entered a not guilty plea during a court appearance on Friday to 18 separate charges of mishandling classified information.
Retribution or a Substantial Case?
The timing of his charge - coming on the heels of allegations against James - has renewed concerns about political pressure on the justice system.
Trump once suggested Bolton belonged in prison, and described him a "sleazebag". Bolton, for his part, wrote a publication about his time in the Trump government that was highly critical of the leader.
"There's no question that the schedule of this indictment, when combined with additional cases, has raised questions about the strength of these charges, and why these counts are being filed at this time," said Jamil Jaffer, creator and director of the National Security Institute.
However, he continued, "should the DOJ is capable to demonstrate the facts alleged and show the information is correctly designated, his conduct may certainly have broken the statute".
Charging such a senior official for improperly handling sensitive materials is "uncommon" but not unprecedented, noted Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.
"Situations that concern sensitive materials pose difficulties to try, but they can and are filed against equally junior and senior officials, from occasionally," she explained.
Parallels to Investigations into Former President and Biden
Trump likewise faced charges of improperly storing classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and obstructing their recovery, but that matter was eventually thrown out by a court official and negated by his re-election as president.
A independent investigator also found that ex-President Joe Biden wrongfully maintained sensitive materials from his time as vice president, but did not prosecute him.
Bolton's case shares characteristics to Biden's classified documents issues, noted Mr Lesko, who previously held a top security role at the DOJ.
Rigorous protocols govern the management of sensitive materials. To win a guilty verdict, the prosecution must prove that Bolton knew the information he was sending was restricted, and he had to knowingly transmit it to someone not entitled to obtain it.
"Because of the sensitive character of the information at issue in this case, we lack a great deal of particulars about why the government contends elements like the diary entries and the additional information he shared by electronic message, and why there were classified," explained Mr Jaffer.
A Increasingly Traditional Legal Action
The procedure by which the Justice Department initiated this legal action will be under scrutiny, after Trump publicly posted his wish to see his critics charged and several of those charges came to fruition.
But Mr Lesko indicated in Bolton's situation, authorities seem to have followed protocol.
"This Bolton prosecution and ultimately the indictment seemed to have followed the standard process including the rules and standards within the DOJ," he stated.
In contrast to Comey's short, two-page charge, Bolton's was a increasingly "conventional" filing that "clearly outlines the particulars concerning the circumstances and circumstances in this instance," Mr Lesko said.
"It seems fairly consistent with a long line of precedents... where government officials improperly handled and transmitted classified material."