[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 76 (Thursday, May 10, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2605-S2607]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



            Calling for the Release of Pastor Andrew Brunson

  Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, a couple of weeks ago, I started the first 
of what will be a weekly speech to bring attention to what I think is a 
travesty of justice occurring in Turkey.
  I wish to speak about a pastor, a Presbyterian minister from North 
Carolina, who has lived in Turkey for about 20 years and who has done 
his very best to respect the laws of Turkey and to bring the Word to 
people who want to hear it.
  Unfortunately, he has been swept up in a coup. He has been swept up 
in the emergency powers of Turkey. He has been in prison for 580 days.
  I went to Turkey about 6 weeks ago to visit Pastor Brunson in prison 
because I heard that after being in prison for about a year and a 
half--and for much of that time in a cell that is designed for 8 people 
and had 21 people in it--he was then indicted. I heard he was afraid 
the American people were going to read that 62-page bogus indictment, 
with some of the flimsiest charges we could imagine--charges that 
wouldn't keep someone overnight in an American jail--that have kept him 
in prison for 580 days. About 2 months ago, he was indicted, but he 
said to his wife and friends, he was afraid the American people would 
read that indictment and turn their backs on him.
  So it was important for me to travel over there and tell him face-to-
face in that Turkish prison that is the last thing that is going to 
happen. We are going to continue to work every day he is in prison. I 
am going to come to the Senate floor, and other Members are, every week 
for as long as he is illegally in prison, and we are going to make sure 
the American people and the Turkish people know what is going on and 
send a very clear message to the leaders of Turkey that this is an 
unacceptable way to deal with a NATO ally. It is a horrible way to deal 
with somebody who is only guilty of standing up for a church in Izmir.

  It is a small church. Actually, the seating area down below, maybe if 
it was packed, could hold 150 people. It opens up to a street. It is in 
a residential area. They let anybody come in. They open their windows. 
They actually talk with the police about security matters so they know 
what is going on, but it is just a small church, and all he was trying 
to do is provide aid and comfort for those who want to seek it.
  Every once in a while, he would go to Syria or other parts of Turkey 
to try to provide aid and comfort to those who need it, Syrian refugees 
or anyone else. Part of the charges are actually related to that. If 
you provide aid and comfort, food, to a Kurdish person, in Turkey 
today, you may be considered a terrorist or a coup plotter. That is 
what he has been charged with.
  In my second trip, I spent 12 hours in a Turkish courtroom to hear 
every word of the testimony from secret witnesses--whom Pastor Brunson 
didn't get to face--about the horrible things he did. One of the 
charges was that one night a witness saw for 4 hours a light on in one 
of the rooms in the church. Here is the problem with that charge: That 
is the room. It doesn't have a window. So unless they had x-ray vision, 
there is no possible way they could have observed that, but it became 
weighty testimony in the courtroom.
  It is a kangaroo court. I want to continue to say, if you don't know 
``kangaroo court,'' there is the definition. It is just a trumped-up 
theater that bears no resemblance to anything you would ever see in 
American jurisprudence.
  Let me give another idea of the level of absurdity of the charges. 
Pastor Brunson's daughter posted how much she enjoyed a meal with 
friends. It turns out the prosecutor thought this particular meal was 
something that was enjoyed by people who participated in the Gulen 
movement, and therefore her father must somehow be associated with the 
coup attempt. These are actually serious discussions going on in a 
Turkish courtroom.
  I wasn't able to make it back to Turkey on Monday. I understand that 
basically the same thing happened, but it got worse. On Monday, when 
Pastor Brunson and his defense attorney had asked that 10 other 
witnesses testify on his behalf, they weren't allowed to testify 
because they were suspects. They weren't convicted. They apparently 
have been charged or considered to be charged, but in Turkish 
jurisprudence standards, to be suspect is enough to prevent you from 
actually helping defend someone who is on trial for a 35-year sentence.
  He has been in prison for 580 days. He has lost 50 pounds. He is 
struggling to keep his wits about him, and he and his wife are doing an 
extraordinary job. This is a miscarriage of justice.
  I believe, today, as I said in a speech 2 weeks ago, and I will say 
it again: Don't travel to Turkey right now. If you are thinking about 
making a trip to Turkey, make sure you don't eat this meal--and, for 
goodness' sake, if you do, don't post how much you enjoyed it because 
you may be considered a Gulenist. Don't take a picture with friendly 
people on the street whose ethnic origins you don't know because they 
may have you associated with somebody who is suspected of plotting a 
coup. That is the reality of Turkey today.
  I can't guarantee the safety of North Carolinians because I have yet 
to actually speak with people in their state department and their 
foreign ministry who actually understand the absurdity of what is going 
on in Turkey today.
  I hope we can get back to a better position, but until this man is 
released, and others who have been falsely charged are treated fairly, 
I am going to have to come to the Senate floor each and every week we 
are in session to make sure the American people know what is going on 
in Turkey and to make absolutely certain that people like Pastor 
Brunson who are in prison know they have people in the U.S. Senate.
  In fact, 66 Senate Members have signed a letter--that is a big lift 
in the U.S. Senate to get any 66 Members to agree on something--to send 
a very clear message that we are watching, and there will be 
consequences if this man is wrongfully imprisoned and could potentially 
spend the rest of his life in Turkey.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to enter into a colloquy with 
my friend and colleague from Oklahoma.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, with that approval, I will pass it over 
and thank Senator Lankford for his hard work--he has been aware of this 
issue from day one--and collaboration on it.
  Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I thank Senator Tillis and the Presiding 
Officer for acknowledging our time to have this conversation. This is a 
serious conversation because this is a NATO ally.
  Dr. Andrew Brunson has been in Turkey 24 years. For 23 of these 
years, he served as a pastor in humanitarian work. He took care of 
providing food and clothing and pastoral ministry for anyone who would 
come, just like anyone does.
  That has not been an issue in Turkey for decades because Turkey has 
been very open to all faiths, all religions, and they have prided 
themselves on

[[Page S2606]]

being a nation that recognizes all faiths, all backgrounds, and all 
religions and ethnicity. At least that was the old Turkey. Literally, 
under Dr. Brunson's feet, Turkey shifted from where they were to where 
we don't recognize them anymore as a NATO ally.
  In October of 2016, Dr. Brunson was called by the police department 
there. Assuming it was an immigration issue, he and his wife went 
because they had gone multiple times to the police department to renew 
their visa and keep everything up to date. They had a great 
relationship with the local police department, with local individuals, 
and with all the authorities in the area because they had been there 
for two decades and had developed great friendships.
  So they went to check in, but this time, instead just checking in 
again for an immigration issue, they took them into custody, without 
any charges, and held them for a year--with no charges--then, 
eventually, presented these trumped-up charges which they have laid out 
that are absolutely absurd.

  How a Christian minister is somehow cooperating with a Muslim in a 
coup in Turkey is absurd on its face. All of the crazy accusations from 
secret witnesses who would appear by video with their faces blurred 
out, making accusations that they had seen or they had heard--allowing 
no one to actually ask them questions is absurd. Just as absurd is not 
allowing Dr. Brunson to bring any witnesses in his defense.
  There have now been two hearings that have been just this style: Dr. 
Brunson not allowed to bring anyone to speak on his behalf; all of 
these trumped-up witnesses who come with blurred-out faces--this secret 
testimony that they can present--to come back and present something 
they would consider evidence that we would never allow in any court, 
and, quite frankly, no one would take seriously these accusations.
  In 2016, after Dr. Brunson had been in jail for a few weeks, I went 
to Turkey and visited with the Minister of Justice there. The Minister 
of Justice at that time said: We have some information. We are going to 
work this out. We are going to allow the process to go through the 
court system, but we will rapidly go through this process. Now, a year 
and a half later, we are finding out there never was any evidence, 
there never was any issue--and we are still dealing with an American 
being held hostage by a NATO ally.
  I thought I would never say this sentence, but I would like to see 
Turkey follow the example of North Korea and release the American 
hostages they are holding. Now, when Turkey--a NATO ally--is behind 
North Korea in how they are handling humanitarian issues, Turkey has 
moved to a very bad spot. It is not a place they need to stay.
  Turkey has been a friend and an ally--we work together against 
terrorism; we work together on economics--but I join Senator Tillis in 
the statement he just made: I discourage anyone I speak to, to do any 
business in Turkey or to travel to Turkey at this point. If you are 
doing business in Turkey, you cannot guarantee the safety of your 
employees any longer; if you are traveling to Turkey, you cannot be 
guaranteed safety anymore. Because of the emergency powers that are 
currently being used in their legal system, they can sweep up anyone 
for any accusation and hold them for any length of time. That is not 
just theory; that is being proven by a pastor being held for a year and 
a half in Turkey with false charges. I highly recommend no one does 
business in Turkey at this moment, just for the safety of your 
employees and the people you would work with.
  Now, Turkey has not just done this. They have also turned toward 
Russia, pursuing Russia for their air defense systems. As a NATO ally, 
that is unheard of, to say they are going to have NATO equipment, but 
then they are also going to go to Russia. That shows the turning of 
President Erdogan and the leadership of the country.
  Congress is not going to just sit back on this and should not. 
Senator Shaheen and I have already put language out for the foreign ops 
bill in Appropriations which would specifically identify those 
individuals--the judges in the court, the officials who are holding 
Pastor Brunson, the officials in the city jail and in their national 
government who are specifically holding those individuals--to apply 
sanctions directly to the individuals who are holding an American 
pastor hostage.
  Senator Shaheen, Senator Tillis, and I have already put forward a 
piece of legislation blocking Turkey from maintaining or purchasing the 
F-35. They are a NATO ally, and they should have access to that, but 
they are not acting like a NATO ally. We don't know where they are 
going, and it would be a mistake for the United States to give our best 
technology--somewhere that we don't know where it is going to go and 
how it is going to be used in the future.
  Just this week, the House released their National Defense 
Authorization Act. In the base text of the NDAA coming from the House 
is a provision which would block all defense sales to Turkey until we 
get more information about what is happening in the future and what 
direction Turkey is going. That is a reasonable precaution to take in a 
nation that is rapidly shifting away from democracy, a free court, free 
speech, and freedom of religion. They are losing humanitarian values. 
We should address that and respond to that, and we are.
  It is not just what we might do; it is what we are doing currently to 
try to respond to this issue. The State Department continues to apply 
diplomatic pressure, but we have moved past the time when diplomatic 
pressure needs to be applied. It is time to apply economic pressure and 
pressure on how our partnership will work long term.
  We want our ally back--the Turkey we used to know, that we cooperated 
with, and maintained a long-term friendship with. We would love to 
maintain that long-term friendship with an ally that has strongly stood 
with us, and we have stood with them, but we do not recognize what 
Turkey is anymore.
  A good first step with them would be to follow the lead of North 
Korea and release our hostages out of their jails.
  Mr. President, I yield back.
  Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, I thank Senator Lankford.
  I went to Turkey when I was speaker of the house in North Carolina 
and led a delegation there about 7 years ago, spent 9 days, met with 
business leaders, and met with President Erdogan. I came away with a 
great deal of optimism--as a matter of fact, so much optimism, I hosted 
a delegation from the mayor of Kayseri, who is now a Minister in the 
Turkish Government, to talk about how North Carolina and Turkey could 
build stronger economic ties. We both have textile and furniture 
industries. It looked like a great opportunity, but, as Senator 
Lankford said, the Turkey of today bears no resemblance to the Turkey I 
visited about 7 years ago, to the Turkey I visited just a few weeks 
ago.
  I would like to be talking about how we help Turkey take the fight to 
terrorist organizations threatening their homeland. I would like to 
work more with Turkey, as we have this week, to identify ISIS leaders, 
detain them, and make that region safer.
  I would like to be a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee--
and sit right next to Senator Sullivan--fighting for additional NDAA 
provisions that underscore our commitment to our NATO ally in Turkey, 
but now I am at a fork in the road, and right now I only have one 
position to take; that is, to put Turkey on notice for their bad 
actions as a NATO ally and for their bad actions toward American 
nationals in the country of Turkey.
  So I am with Senator Lankford, Senator Shaheen, and other Senators. 
When we do our markup on the national defense authorization, instead of 
talking about how we strengthen our relationship for their part in 
manufacturing the Joint Strike Fighter and what is the timeline to 
actually have our NATO ally have Joint Strike Fighters, F-35s, within 
their military base, now I have to start talking about whether they 
should have it at all. I have to start talking about what are the 
implications of a Russian missile defense system in a NATO country, 
with all the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets that 
come with it. I have to start talking about what the future of our 
relationship is with a nation that is, for the first time in NATO 
history, holding American hostages--a NATO ally. I have to take

[[Page S2607]]

things in a different direction. It is my responsibility, as the co-
lead of the Senate NATO observer group, as the Senator of a State who 
has had a citizen in prison for 580 days. I have no choice.
  I thank the Presiding Officer for the time today. I will be back next 
week, and I will be back every week until we see justice served for 
Pastor Brunson.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, all postcloture time 
is expired.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the Brennan 
nomination?
  Mr. WYDEN. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the 
Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Graham) and the Senator from Arizona 
(Mr. McCain).
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker), 
the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Coons), and the Senator from Illinois 
(Ms. Duckworth) are necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Fischer). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 49, nays 46, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 89 Ex.]

                                YEAS--49

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Hyde-Smith
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Lankford
     Lee
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Wicker
     Young

                                NAYS--46

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cortez Masto
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Gillibrand
     Harris
     Hassan
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Jones
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Smith
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--5

     Booker
     Coons
     Duckworth
     Graham
     McCain
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to 
reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the President 
will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

                          ____________________