Calling for the Release of Pastor Andrew Brunson

Floor Speech

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Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join Senator Tillis on the floor today as he discusses Turkey and Pastor Andrew Brunson. I applaud Senator Tillis for his continued commitment in seeking justice for Pastor Brunson. Since March, Senator Tillis, Senator Lankford, and I have joined together to keep pressure on Turkish President Erdogan.

We are not driven by diaspora politics, we have no hidden agendas, and we are not agents for Gulen or other actors like the Turkish papers have claimed--quite the contrary. As cochairs of the Senate NATO Observer Group, Senator Tillis and I are ardent supporters of NATO. We value Turkey's importance as an ally. We want U.S.-Turkey relations to improve. Yet, supporting Turkey and the Turkish people should not mean appeasing the Turkish President.

It is clear that the less we push back as a nation against Turkish President Erdogan, the more emboldened he becomes.

Five years ago, if you had asked any diplomat or military official whether Turkey would stoop so low as to take innocent Americans hostage and leverage them for political gain, no one would have said that this was a possibility. Yet that is where we are today.

Turkey has not only joined the ranks of Iran, Syria, North Korea, and Venezuela as a hostage-taker, but it has shifted its orientation away from NATO and toward Russia for no other reason except for Erdogan's financial and electoral gain.

Even with the near-constant propaganda, however, there are things the Turkish Government can't hide: Turkey's rapidly falling currency, the faltering state of their judiciary, the inexplicable enrichment of President Erdogan, his family, and his inner circle. All these issues are well-known concerns. In fact, according to New World Wealth--the research outfit that tracks millionaire migrations--in 2017, the largest exodus of millionaires was seen in Turkey--a clear indication that those who can leave Turkey are choosing to do so.

Unfortunately, the Turkish people can only do so much while living under a dictatorship--a dictatorship that is about to expand on June 24, the date of Turkey's next election. For this reason, the United States should not stay silent about what is happening in Turkey and what is happening to NATO because of Turkey.

Senator Tillis and I both serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and we successfully added a bipartisan and widely supported amendment to this year's Defense bill that is moving through the Senate. The amendment would stall the delivery or transfer of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to Turkey.

I hope that both the Departments of State and Defense hear Congress loud and clear: We should have no signing ceremonies, no planes, and no moves to weaken NATO are acceptable at this time.

Our government is well aware of the serious security concerns that may come if Turkey takes control of any F-35 aircraft. My colleagues Senator Donnelly and Senator Tillis have already spoken eloquently to that.

First, the Turkish Government claims to have purchased a Russian air defense system designed to shoot these very planes down. NATO partners need these F-35s to counter Russian activity. We would be handing this technology over to the Kremlin if we granted Turkey these planes, and Congress will not stand for it.

Second and absolutely critical to this afternoon's discussion is that nothing should be more important than the safety of American citizens.

Pastor Brunson has been held in Turkey since October of 2016. The charges against him are clearly fabricated, and the legal proceedings have been a farce. His defense is not allowed to call up witnesses, and the identities of the secret witnesses in his indictment are known to be petty criminals.

What is happening to Pastor Brunson is an absolute shame, but it has become a sad reality for those living in Turkey because Turkey has already imprisoned over 50,000 of its own people. I wish we could do more for all of those people, but at the very least, our government has a duty to act when any American anywhere is held unjustly by a foreign government. We must do everything we can to bring Americans home, to bring Pastor Brunson home.

I encourage the administration to use every tool available in their diplomatic and economic toolbox to bring the pastor and all innocent Americans home at once. In the meantime, Senators Tillis, Lankford, and I will continue to push for targeted sanctions against Erdogan and all officials who are involved in the unlawful detention of Americans in Turkey. We will not cease our efforts until Turkey rejoins the community of democracies it once belonged to. We all hope this day comes sooner rather than later.

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