Why John Bolton case is more serious than those against other Trump critics

October 19, 2025

Why John Bolton case is more serious than those against other Trump critics

President Donald Trump has made no secret of his desire to see his critics investigated, pressuring the Justice Department to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"We can't delay any longer, it's killing our reputation and credibility," the president wrote last month in a Truth Social post.

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

Both have since been charged, in cases that many experts have said appear to be politically motivated and difficult to win in court.

But the latest charges against a Trump critic, former national security adviser John Bolton, stand apart, legal specialists and former prosecutors say.

"I would say, comparing Bolton's charges to Comey's and James' is like comparing apples to oranges," said Mark Lesko, a former acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

Bolton has been criminally indicted on federal charges pertaining to the alleged mishandling of classified information. Since leaving the White House in 2019, he has become a vocal Trump critic, going so far as to call him "stunningly uninformed" and unfit for office in his memoir.

Experts say that while there may be political reasons to go after Bolton, the procedures used to secure an indictment and the evidence compiled against him indicate a potentially stronger case than the Justice Department brought against Comey or James.