WASHINGTON, D.C. — Utah’s two U.S. senators — perhaps not surprisingly — are offering sharply contrasting reactions to former President Donald Trump’s indictment stemming from the cache of classified U.S. documents he allegedly held onto after leaving office.

While acknowledging that the charges Trump faces have yet to face scrutiny in court, Sen. Mitt Romney swiped at the former president. Romney, a Republican like Lee, has been a frequent and vociferous critic of Trump, also a GOPer. The 37-count indictment against Trump was released Friday.

“Mr. Trump brought these charges upon himself by not only taking classified documents, but by refusing to simply return them when given numerous opportunities to do so,” Romney said in a statement. “These allegations are serious and if proven, would be consistent with his other actions offensive to the national interest, such as withholding defensive weapons from Ukraine for political reasons and failing to defend the Capitol from violent attack and insurrection.”

Lee, a Trump supporter, issued a statement targeting the administration of President Joe Biden, a Democrat. U.S. Attorney Merrick Garland, part of the White House cabinet, appointed Jack Smith as special counsel to oversee the probe into the Trump matter, leading to the former president’s indictment.

As Lee sees it, the indictment is an attack by the Biden administration on Trump and a form of political oppression. Both Trump and Biden will seek the presidency in 2024 elections, Biden as a Democrat, Trump as a Republican.

“The Biden administration’s actions can only be compared to the type of oppressive tactics routinely seen in nations such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua, which are absolutely alien and unacceptable in America,” Lee said in a statement. “It is an affront to our country’s glorious 246-year legacy of independence from tyranny for the incumbent president of the United States to leverage the machinery of justice against a political rival. Such an act of absolute disrespect echoes despotism, making it fundamentally at odds with American democratic values.”

Romney offered a sharp counterpoint to suggestions that politics were at play in the indictment of Trump. “By all appearances, the Justice Department and special counsel have exercised due care, affording Mr. Trump the time and opportunity to avoid charges that would not generally have been afforded to others,” Romney said in his statement.

U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart, a Republican who represents Utah’s 2nd District, also had a critical response to the indictment, like Lee.

“These charges are equally unprecedented and unconscionable. This is a sad day for any American who believes in the rule of law. The National Archives have confirmed that every single president since Ronald Reagan has mishandled classified materials,” Stewart said in a tweet.

The indictment, as posted on the Washington Post website, offered a scathing description of Trump.

“The classified documents Trump stored in his boxes included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack,” it reads. The disclosure of the documents “could put at risk the national security of the United States.”

In a video statement, Smith said he’d seek a speedy trial in the matter. “We have one set of laws in this country and they apply to everybody,” he said.

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