How the Bolton Case Differs Substantially from Other Former President Critics
Former President Donald Trump has consistently expressed his desire to see opponents investigated, exerting influence on the DOJ to prosecute 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 president stated last month in a social media message.
"They impeached me, and indicted me (5 times!)" he said, mentioning the four criminal cases he encountered after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's lawsuit.
Both have since been charged, in situations that many specialists have said seem to be driven by politics and difficult to succeed in court.
But the most recent allegations against a presidential opponent, former national security adviser John Bolton, stand apart, legal experts and former prosecutors say.
"I would say, contrasting Bolton's case to James' is like comparing apples to oranges," stated Mark Lesko, a ex acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
This Specifics of Bolton's Case
Bolton has been criminally indicted on federal charges related to the alleged mishandling of classified information. After leaving the White House in 2019, he has become a vocal Trump critic, even to describe him "stunningly uninformed" and unsuitable for office in his book.
Experts contend 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 possibly more substantial case than the Justice Department brought against Comey.
"This misconduct that's being claimed is both more severe and seems to have occurred over a considerable period of time," said Carissa Byrne Hessick, a academic at the University of North Carolina School of Law.
During his tenure as Trump's security advisor, and following his 2019 White House exit, authorities claimed that Bolton placed the country at risk by wrongfully retaining and sending classified information to family members using insecure means, including AOL. Several of the materials were labeled highly classified.
The indictment alleges that at one point a hacker gained access to Bolton's system where files were kept and transmitted an apparent 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 distinct charges of mishandling sensitive materials.
Retribution or a Strong Legal Argument?
The schedule of his indictment - coming 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 described him a "disreputable person". Bolton, for his role, wrote a publication about his time in the Trump administration that was sharply negative of the president.
"There's no question that the schedule of this indictment, when paired with others, has prompted doubts about the strength of these charges, and why these charges are being brought at this time," said Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director of the National Security Institute.
However, he added, "should the DOJ is capable to prove the allegations alleged and demonstrate the information is properly classified, his conduct may certainly have violated the law".
Charging such a senior figure for improperly handling classified documents is "uncommon" but not without precedent, noted Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.
"Cases that concern classified information pose challenges to prosecute, but they may and are brought against both low-level and high-level personnel, from time to time," she said.
Similarities to Investigations into Former President and President
Trump likewise encountered allegations of wrongfully storing classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and hindering their recovery, but that matter was eventually thrown out by a federal judge and negated by his return as president.
A independent investigator also found that former President Joe Biden wrongfully stored sensitive materials from his period as second-in-command, but did not criminally charge him.
Bolton's case bears similarities to Biden's classified documents issues, noted Mr Lesko, who also held a top national security position at the DOJ.
Rigorous protocols govern the handling of classified documents. To win a conviction, the prosecution must demonstrate that Bolton knew the information he was transmitting was restricted, and he had to knowingly transmit it to someone not entitled to receive it.
"Due to the sensitive character of the information at issue in this matter, we lack a great deal of particulars about the reasons the prosecution contends elements like the personal notes and the additional information he communicated by electronic message, and the reason there were classified," explained Mr Jaffer.
A More Conventional Prosecution
The process by which the DOJ brought this case will be closely examined, after Trump publicly posted his desire to see his critics charged and some of those charges materialized.
But Mr Lesko said in Bolton's situation, authorities appear to have followed protocol.
"The Bolton case and ultimately the indictment appeared to have followed the standard procedure including the rules and standards within the Department of Justice," he stated.
In contrast to Comey's short, concise charge, Bolton's was a increasingly "traditional" filing that "explicitly outlines the details involving the circumstances and circumstances in this instance," Mr Lesko commented.
"It seems fairly aligned with a series of cases... where government officials mishandled and shared sensitive information."