Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I would like to summarize. The Presiding Officer and I have had a front row seat in this process. We both serve on the Judiciary Committee.

I think oftentimes people come to the floor, and they want to just give the American public a little slice of what is going on that benefits their narrative rather than stepping back and thinking about what has happened since early July when Judge Kavanaugh was nominated to be on the Supreme Court. That happened on July 9.

Before July 9, there were many people on the other side of the aisle who had already announced their opposition not to Judge Kavanaugh but to anyone whom President Trump would nominate. We know who they are. They are very well publicized. I understand that. As a Member of the Democratic conference, I wouldn't deny them their

right to do that. They oppose the President and anything he stands for.

Then, on July 10, there was a press conference, now that we knew who the nominee was, and a majority of the Democratic Members also said they opposed him. As a matter of fact, the minority leader said he would fight the nomination with everything he has, and he has, but there are some pieces to the mechanics that I think are important for people to understand.

Briefly, after Judge Kavanaugh was nominated, the chair and the ranking member got together, and they tried to come up with a framework for releasing as many documents as possible. In fact, that went on for 2 or 3 weeks. In fact, the documents some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle said the Republicans refused to produce were going to be made available on a very focused basis but with what they call search terms--the way to get into those 100,000 secret documents they are talking about. We estimate that if our colleagues on the other side of the aisle would have done what they have traditionally done--that is, come up with an agreement on document production--they would have gained a lot of insights into the documents we considered relevant but not necessarily the documents they would like to use to create another political narrative, but they refused to cooperate, and we moved forward. As a matter of fact, we moved forward and provided more documents for this Supreme Court nominee than the total number of documents provided for all, in total, of the last three or four Supreme Court nominees.

We also went on to question--they call it questions for the record. What that means is that any member on the committee is entitled to compel the nominee to answer questions after the hearing. Judge Kavanaugh was subjected to over 1,200 questions for the record, under oath, that he had to submit back to the committee members. Those questions for the record are a multiple of any one nominee in the past; and, in fact, I understand it is probably the sum total of questions for the record that all the nominees on the bench were subjected to.

So the questions were asked. The documents were presented. All of that document production was going on in the latter part of July and August; the first tranche of documents came in about the second week of August.

What else was going on in the latter part of July and August? A letter, which was first submitted to a Congresswoman from California, was then routed to the ranking member, the senior Senator from California, at the end of July--a document that was expected to be held in confidence. It is a document we now know was authored by Dr. Ford, provided to the Judiciary Committee, with the understanding that her name would not become public.

In the past, the chair and the ranking member have a great relationship. They have a trusting relationship. In the past, when you had something you thought was material to the consideration of a nominee, a ranking member and a chair would try to figure out how to actually assess that information to treat the person in question--in this case, Dr. Ford--fairly and to hold her information in confidence. That didn't happen here. Actually, there was no communication with the chair by the ranking member.

A few weeks into it, we do know there was some consultation from what Dr. Ford says was a committee staffer to retain an attorney who has a very well-publicized reputation for being partisan. I don't have any problem with that because we have partisan attorneys on both sides of the aisle, but at the recommendation of the committee staff, which is what Dr. Ford said under oath, they retained an attorney who is working pro bono.

Now, I am really wondering whether some--not all but some--of the people on the other side of the aisle genuinely cared about what I believe is a traumatic experience in Dr. Ford's life, genuinely care about trying to go through a process that would provide Dr. Ford with some closure because if they had, maybe they would have gotten someone who could interview her in the way that people experienced with sex crimes interview persons who have experienced a traumatic event. These attorneys who were retained didn't do that. Maybe, when the attorneys she retained, who are pro bono attorneys--that means they are not being paid, they are doing it at no cost or at least no cost to Dr. Ford--if the attorneys really cared about Dr. Ford versus the outcome, maybe they should have recommended to Dr. Ford to have the hearing, but that didn't happen either.

Now we move further through, and at the hearing--we had 32 hours of hearings. The letter was known to the ranking member. I don't believe it was known to any other member on the committee--32 hours of hearings. Each one of us had two rounds, virtually an hour to ask questions of Judge Kavanaugh, not even an abstracted series of questions protecting the identity of Dr. Ford but questions that could have potentially raised the issues we now saw after the hearing. Thirty-two hours of hearings, nothing mentioned. An hour and a half private hearing that, unfortunately, Senator Feinstein, for whatever reason, wasn't able to attend, never brought up. After the hearing, then we heard about these allegations.

Now, I have had some people on the other side of the aisle say we rushed the committee process. The fact is, it was delayed for 2 weeks after we found out about the allegation; 1 week was to get to a point to where we could accommodate Dr. Ford and have her come and testify before the committee. Chairman Grassley was criticized by some of the folks on my side of the aisle because they said he shouldn't be accommodating, delaying; set a deadline and moving forward. He didn't. He spent the weekend trying to figure out a setting, a method, that Dr. Ford would be comfortable with.

Let me back up a week earlier. A week earlier, the chairman and the committee offered to Dr. Ford to go to California to interview her outside of the lights, outside of the circus that sometimes occurs here, and have the attorneys present during the interview. In the hearing we had with Dr. Ford, the question was asked: Were you aware that the committee offered to come to California in a confidential setting and allow you to give your testimony? Her response to that question was: I did not understand that. So that really raises a lot of doubts in my mind about either the competence or the agenda of her counsel.

So now, at this point, I believe there are two sets of people who are opposed to Judge Kavanaugh's nomination. There are some who just genuinely disagree with his judicial philosophy. I actually vote for some judges when I disagree with their judicial philosophy. There are some on the agenda that I will again, but I am going to vote for them-- and I am going to get criticized by people on the right side of the aisle--because they are considered unanimously ``well qualified'' and just because I don't like the way they rule in certain cases, that is not enough reason to vote against them, but maybe for people on the other side of the aisle there is.

Then there is another group of people over there who I genuinely believe have used witnesses, have used this process, to just advance a political message and a political agenda.

Another reason I believe that is how the narrative changes depending on what sticks. We have received the additional background investigation. I should mention Judge Kavanaugh has had seven background investigations over the last 25 years. I saw a stack of documents in a secure facility that is about that thick; I would estimate 600 to 1,000 pages of prior Federal FBI background investigations to clear him for other roles he has had, as well as in this case. Over 25 years talking to 150 people, some as recently as about 10 years, or less than 10 years after he was in college, and not a whiff of any of the allegations we have seen put forward--not a single note.

So as more information comes up, we see the narrative going from the weight of the allegations--because, honestly, in every instance where an accuser has made an allegation and said these people were present, those people have been interviewed if they were willing to, and none of them have corroborated the allegations that were made--none. In the followup investigation, it even further undermined the sort of inference you draw when somebody says: Yes, these people were there. Check with them. We went back

and checked with them, and it further undermined the veracity of the allegations that were made.

Now it looks like the narrative on the allegations is beginning to wane, so now the new narrative--and this is the last I will be talking about--is that, well, even if the allegations are untrue, the way Judge Kavanaugh behaved in the hearing--he was angry--raises a question about his judicial temperament.

Ladies and gentlemen, first, the American Bar Association has voted Judge Kavanaugh unanimously ``well qualified'' twice. In at least the most recent rating, they even spoke specifically to his temperament on the bench. I saw his temperament during the hearing for 32 hours. He sat in that chair in some cases for 2 or 3 hours without getting up and was patient when some unfair questions were being asked. He was cut off repeatedly, and he maintained his composure. He did well in about 31, 32 hours' worth of testimony.

Last week, I didn't see Judge Kavanaugh in the hearing; I saw Brett Kavanaugh. I saw a father, I saw a husband, I saw a son who was defending his honor. I saw somebody dragged through the mud without a single allegation with any corroborating testimony defending himself as a human being, and he did well for about 2 hours.

One final note. I firmly believe that Judge Kavanaugh is going to go to the Bench, and I firmly believe that because of his independence, he is going to make some rulings that I am not going to like, but he is going to do it for the right reasons.

What he is going to say is ``Instead of treating us like a nine- member legislature, go do your job, Congress. Change the law if you want me to have a different opinion'' when it comes to the Court. We should now be in that light, thinking about how we work together on a bipartisan basis to change things that we don't like, not expecting a nine-member legislature to do our job.

This has been a very difficult process. I know it has been extraordinarily difficult for the Kavanaugh family and for Dr. Ford. I pray for Dr. Ford's peace. I hope she finds closure. I hope there is some way she will be able to reexamine the facts of that summer in 1982 or 1983 and identify precisely what happened, precisely who can corroborate it, and have someone held accountable for that act. But I don't believe by any stretch of the imagination, based on the information presented to us, that that is Judge Brett Kavanaugh. For that reason, I will be voting no tomorrow--I will not be voting no tomorrow; I will be voting yes tomorrow.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I know that the Presiding Officer has been present in the Chair a few times when I have given this speech. It is not a prepared speech. It is an update on a travesty of justice that is continuing in Turkey.

Today is October 4. On October 7, 2016, a man named Andrew Brunson, a Presbyterian minister from my State of North Carolina, up near Black Mountain, was arrested by Turkish authorities.

Pastor Brunson has been a missionary in Turkey for about 20 years. In 2016, there was an illegal coup attempt. The people associated with it should go to prison because there should not be violent changes of power in nations. They have an election process, and they should honor it. I have no problem when there is evidence of people who have been associated with an illegal coup going to prison, but I have a real problem with a man who for the last 2 years has been in a Turkish prison and went 19 months without an indictment. He was held without charges for 19 months. Over the last couple of months, we finally got him into house arrest.

Then they put together an indictment that is truly something that I don't think could keep someone in an American jail overnight. I read it and felt so strongly about it that I decided to go to Turkey and be in the courtroom for 16 hours when he sat through his nearly 12-hour hearing.

I was in that courtroom for the whole time, a courtroom just outside of Izmir. It was the second time I was there. I was there 2 months earlier to visit him in prison and to let him know that the U.S. Senate and the U.S. Congress knows he is there and we are not going to forget him. We had nearly 70 Senators sign on to a letter to that effect.

The reason I do this speech is to remind the American people about Pastor Brunson and to remind them about other Americans and Turkish- Americans who are in prison, suggesting that they were a part of trying to overthrow President Erdogan's government.

It will be 2 years on the 7th of this month. That is 727 days that he has been held in prison.

But what I want to talk about is kind of related to a subject we are discussing on the floor in another matter, and that is unsubstantiated allegations. This man has over 11 unsubstantiated allegations. What does that mean?

Somebody says: I saw somebody do this.

Yet they produce nobody else that can actually corroborate it, in other words, saying: Yes, I remember that happening; I agree with that testimony.

There were 11 different allegations. Many of the people who testified wouldn't even show their faces. They were on a video screen with digital blocking and with their voices hidden. Some of them we now know are in Turkish prisons themselves.

None of the allegations have been corroborated by a single person. Yet this American, this man who was bringing the word of God to the people who wanted to hear it--he wasn't forcing it on them; he was asking them into the church if they wanted to sit through a service on a Sunday or during the week--was put in prison. He was put in prison for allegations.

One person who is also in prison said that one night they saw a light on up in the upstairs part of this very small church. It only fits about 100 people, and there is a little office upstairs. There was a light on for 4 hours, and, therefore, something bad must have been happening in there.

There is another real problem with that allegation. It turns out that when I went to Izmir and to that church, there is no window in that upstairs room. Yet that is an unsubstantiated allegation that has landed this man in prison and subjected him to a possible 35-year prison sentence in Turkey.

Another was a media post by his daughter, who ate a meal that the Turkish authorities said is a meal that is commonly eaten by terrorist organizations and so, therefore, she must be associated with that organization. That is the level of the allegation. In fact, it is one the more popular dishes enjoyed by many people--Kurds, Turks, and a number of people in the Middle East--but those are the unsubstantiated allegations that have kept this man in prison for 2 years and could potentially keep him in prison for 35 years.

He is coming up on his final court date, where they will either release him or imprison him.

I want to thank President Trump for making this a priority. I want to thank Secretary of State Pompeo for making this a priority. I want to thank my colleagues, including the Presiding Officer, who voted on a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act that says: Turkey, if you go down this path, there will be consequences. If you go down this path, you may not see the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter ever on Turkish territory. We may have to rethink the supply chain that runs through Turkey to build the F-35. We may actually have to take additional measures.

I am watching them. Right now, I am trying to show them respect and hope that they do the right thing, but I want Pastor Brunson and his wife Norine and all of the people who belong to his church--the same church that the Reverend Billy Graham was associated with--to know that if justice is not served, then, we will continue to put the pressure on Turkey in any way that I can for as long as I am a U.S. Senator.

Tonight I would just ask anybody watching this on C-Span and all of my colleagues to just pray for Pastor Brunson, to pray for his release. I hope that I don't have to come to you for additional support to remind Turkey that our American justice system would never put a Turkish person in prison and our NATO ally should understand that we want him treated with respect and their very strong partner, the United States of America, treated with respect.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I have 4 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority leaders.

Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 4, 2018, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``Broadband: Opportunities and Challenges in Rural America.''

Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 4, 2018, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``Combating Money Laundering and other Forms of Illicit Finance: Regulators and Law Enforcement Perspectives on Reform.''

Committee on Foreign Relations

The Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 4, 2018, at 11 a.m., to conduct a hearing on the following nominations: Earle D. Litzenberger, of California, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan, Eric George Nelson, of Texas, to be Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Judith Gail Garber, of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Cyprus, and Jeffrey Ross Gunter, of California, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Iceland, all of the Department of State.

Select Committee on Intelligence

The Select Committee on Intelligence is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 4, 2018, at 2 p.m., to conduct a closed briefing.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Jay Nathan, a fellow in Senator Kennedy's office, be granted floor privileges for the day.

Mr. President, today I would like to honor a constituent of mine who was recently awarded one of the highest honors in his industry.

Jack Salzman, owner of Lake Norman Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-RAM in Cornelius, NC, was named 2018 TIME Magazine Dealer of the Year, a national award that recognizes new-car dealers who exhibit exceptional performance in their dealerships and perform distinguished community service.

The TIME Magazine Dealer of the Year award is held in partnership with Ally Financial and the National Automobile Dealers Association, NADA. Representatives from TIME and Ally Financial presented the award at the 2018 NADA Show in Las Vegas, NV. He dedicated his award to his wife, Robin Smith-Salzman.

Mr. Salzman was recognized for his exceptional commitment to giving back to his community focusing his philanthropic time and attention in three areas: animals in need, children in need, and women in need.

To this end, he is a contributor to the Humane Society of Charlotte, NC, as well as a founding board member of Lake Norman Humane Society. He also supports Lake Norman Lucky Cats, which provides trap-neuter- return services, as well as Holly'z Hope, an organization that helps unchain dogs by building fences for homeowners in need.

To assist women and children in need, Mr. Salzman is a longtime supporter of the Dove House Children's Advocacy Center in Statesville, NC, Pat's Place Child Advocacy Center in Charlotte, NC, Amy's House in Lincolnton, NC, and the Shelter of Gaston County in Gastonia, NC. Mr. Salzman has stated, ``We believe these organizations serve a critical need in our community.''

Other national groups Mr. Salzman contributes to include Make-A-Wish, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Habitat for Humanity, Susan G. Komen, and the American Cancer Society.

Mr. Salzman is also an accomplished swimmer in the 200-meter backstroke and competed in the U.S. Olympic trials for the summer games in Moscow.

He was nominated for the TIME Magazine Dealer of the Year award by Robert Glaser, president of the North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association.

On behalf of all the constituents of North Carolina, please join me in congratulating Mr. Salzman on being named the 2018 TIME Magazine Dealer of the Year. I wish him and his family continued success and a prosperous future.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be able to complete my brief remarks.

Mr. President, before I speak on another topic I sadly have to come to the floor every week and speak on, I want to offer my heartfelt condolences to the McCain family and all of his friends and supporters.

I had the privilege of serving on the Senate Armed Services Committee with Senator McCain for 3 years. I learned a lot from him. During his entire time in Congress, he did a wonderful job of standing up for the men and women in uniform and standing up for veterans.

I also wanted to share this one story. I had a reporter ask me yesterday: What kinds of experiences have you had with him that were most memorable? It was a day I spent with him in North Carolina back in 2014. I think you can really judge a politician by how they behave when they are not in front of the camera or here at one of the desks in the Senate. When you saw him interacting with men and women in uniform and with veterans, you saw a man with a heart of gold and a commitment to those men and women in uniform.

I want to again tell the McCain family that our prayers are with them and our hearts are with them. We thank them for allowing him to share some of his life here with us in the Senate.

Mr. President, now I would like to turn to another sad topic. It is a floor speech that I have had to give over the past few months and sadly may have to give over the next several months. It has to do with someone who has been in detention now for 690 days in the country of Turkey.

In October 2016, this man was detained. He was held in a Turkish prison for almost 19 months, in a cell that was designed for 8 people-- it had 21 people in it. This man's name is Andrew Brunson. He is from Black Mountain, NC. He is a Presbyterian minister, and he spent the better part of 20 years in Turkey in a Christian ministry. He opened a church just outside of Izmir several years ago. It is a very small church. They had an open-door policy. Anyone could come in. He had been living there peacefully for 20 years.

In 2016, there was a coup attempt that I still maintain was illegal. It was not the proper way to change government, whether in the United States or in Turkey. The people responsible for that coup should be held accountable to the law. Unfortunately, Pastor Brunson got swept up in the emergency actions that President Erdogan took after the coup attempt, and he was put in prison. He actually thought he was going down to finally get his permanent residency documents in Turkey, which he had been working on for a while, when he and his wife were arrested. His wife was held in prison for about 12 days. Pastor Brunson has been in prison and now detained under house arrest for what will be 2 years in October.

The issue actually came to me as constituent work about a year and a half ago. We were doing everything we could to go through diplomatic channels to try to get Pastor Brunson released. Earlier this year, they finally--after about 19 months in prison without charges, they issued an indictment and read the indictment. It was absurd. I am not an attorney, but I couldn't even understand how--the charges they had levied against Pastor Brunson and the evidence they used to substantiate the charges I don't believe would keep you in jail in the United States overnight. Yet this man had already been held in prison for 19 months. I also heard that he was really concerned. His mental state was down. He lost 50 pounds over about a year and a half. I also heard through diplomatic channels that he was afraid that the American people would read these indictments, believe them, and then turn their backs on him. That is when I requested a trip to Turkey to visit him in a prison and look at him eye-to-eye and let him know that as long as I am a U.S. Senator, he will not be forgotten.

About 6 weeks later, I went back, and I sat through 12 hours of his first hearing--12 hours in a Turkish courtroom. That convinced me that this man was being subjected to a kangaroo court. The legal system there is very different from our own. He has no jury. He is speaking before three judges and a prosecutor who sits up at the dais with the judges. They assume you are guilty unless you prove to them you are innocent. He testified for almost 6 hours that day. We heard from secret witnesses whose voices were scrambled--some of them are in prison--putting forth some of the most absurd charges or allegations you can imagine, but they are enough to keep him in prison.

About a month ago, the Turkish Government did agree--or I should say their judiciary did agree to release him on house arrest. So for about the last month, he has been confined to an apartment he has near Izmir. He has a tracking bracelet on his ankle. As far as I am concerned, he is still in prison.

For the past several months, I have been trying to do everything I could to show respect to the Turkish Government but make it clear that America will not stand for this kind of treatment of an American citizen, particularly from a country that is a NATO ally, a country that we have a treaty obligation to go and defend in a time of any sort of adversarial act. Let's say Russia or some other nation chooses to do something hostile to Turkey. We are obligated to send men and women onto Turkish soil to fight side by side for their freedom. Yet I have an American who has been charged with bogus charges in prison in a NATO ally country. This is the first time that has ever happened in the history of the alliance.

When we talk to the people--the Foreign Minister, President Erdogan, and others--about this, they say: Well, we just have to have our judicial process follow its course. I don't believe that is true. As a matter of fact, I believe we have a President who is inclined to try and do a hostage swap. The reason I believe that is that after they said we have to let the judicial process follow its course, President Erdogan made this statement publicly--that they have someone here who they believe was involved in the coup attempt. We said to them, if they are and can prove it and if we have an extradition treaty, we will extradite that person. They haven't proven it. What they have said to the press is, If you give us our pastor, we will give you your pastor.

Maybe it was just an offhanded comment that he regrets. Maybe he didn't really mean that he is willing to trade someone on U.S. soil for somebody on Turkish soil. Then why, just a few weeks ago, did the administration or administration officials say, ``Well, OK, if we can't trade a pastor for a pastor, then if you agree to drop a lawsuit that is against a major banking institution in Turkey, we will give you Pastor Brunson''? If, after two different examples, they haven't proven that

this is a hostage situation, I don't know what is.

Over the past several months, we have had to put a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act to hold Turkey accountable. It relates to Pastor Brunson's imprisonment. It relates to their consideration for buying a Russian-made missile defense system that would never be allowed to interoperate with the NATO missile defense system. We have also told them that we may have to reconsider whether we would actually transfer Joint Strike Fighter F-35 planes to Turkey and the timeline they are supposed to go there, which would be at the end of 2020.

I hope we get past all of this. I hope that measure in the National Defense Authorization Act is the last one I have to pursue here. Yet, as long as Pastor Brunson is imprisoned in Turkey, I will do everything I can to get the 72 Senators who signed the letter that expressed concern for Pastor Brunson--it is extraordinary to get that many Senators to agree on something in this body--to take it up another notch unless Pastor Brunson is set free.

I hope, next week, I will come to this floor and thank Turkey for doing the right thing in releasing Pastor Brunson and in allowing his wife, Norine, to travel out of the country. I hope, next year or next week, I will be talking about the positive things we can do with the NATO allies to secure their homeland, to improve our trade agreements, and to actually have the relationship with that NATO ally that I want so badly to have. Until Pastor Brunson is released, there is no way on this Earth that I will do anything to make our relationship better.

It is within President Erdogan's power to take this off the table today. I hope that President Erdogan and the Turkish officials hear our pleas. Show us, a NATO ally, the respect we deserve, and free Pastor Brunson.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I have a request for one committee to meet during today's session of the Senate. It has the approval of the Majority and Minority leaders.

Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committee is authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard

The Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, August 28, 2018, at 2:30 p.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``Harmful Algal Blooms: The Impact on Our Nation's Waters.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I have come to the floor every week for the past several months to draw attention to a matter that I think should be important to anybody who travels overseas, anybody who does missionary work, anybody who can go to a country and potentially get detained for false charges and imprisoned for nearly 2 years. I am talking about a Presbyterian minister from North Carolina who has been in Turkey for the better part of 20 years. He was a missionary that entire time. He created a church in Izmir and has lived there peacefully and lawfully for two decades.

In October of 2016, after the coup attempt--an illegal coup attempt, and the people responsible for it should actually have to answer to the Turkish justice system--they swept Pastor Brunson and thousands of other people into the Turkish justice system, and he has been in prison since 2016.

He was in prison for nearly 19 months before he was ever charged with anything. In fact, he lost 50 pounds over the course of about a year. He was in a cell that was designed for 8 people but had 21 people in it. I don't believe any of the others even spoke English. He was then transferred to another prison where he was kept in a cell with one other person, given virtually no access to the outside world.

He has experienced medical challenges, as anyone would expect when you are in prison without charges, and we found out the charges were bogus. That would weigh on you mentally.

We started working to try to first let Pastor Brunson know we knew about him and that I, as a Senator from North Carolina, cared about him. I cared enough to go to Turkey to visit him in prison several months ago. I told him I wanted to assure him face-to-face that as long as he is in prison, I will be working for his release. As a matter of fact, we have more than 70 Senators who have signed on to a letter who share my concern that he is illegally in prison.

What have we done? We actually put a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act that holds Turkey accountable. They are a partner in developing the Joint Strike Fighter. It is a capability I sincerely hope someday Turkey may have. There is no way on Earth we should transfer that technology to Turkey as long as they are illegally imprisoning Pastor Brunson and others whom I will talk about shortly.

We did make some positive progress a few weeks ago. After he had been in prison for nearly 20 months, a little over, he was released on house arrest. At least he is now in his apartment near Izmir. He has an ankle bracelet on and is not allowed to go out of his house.

He has had several hearings. I actually attended one earlier in the spring. I was in that courtroom for almost 12 hours. I heard some of the most absurd claims you could ever allege as a basis for keeping somebody in prison overnight, let alone 2 years in October.

We are working with the administration, and I want to give the President a lot of credit for making this a priority. If you have read the newspapers recently, it would be hard for you not to hear about the Presbyterian minister, Pastor Brunson, and the difference of opinion between Turkey and the United States on what should be done.

When I talk to a lot of the Turkish officials, they say you have to respect our justice system; this has to play out, no matter how absurd the claims may be. Those are my words, not theirs. I wonder if they are sincere. Here is why. Several months ago, President Erdogan, the President of Turkey, made a public statement saying: How about this? We will give you your pastor if you give us our pastor?

There is a person living in the United States named Gulen, who they believe may have had something to do with the coup. We have an extradition treaty with Turkey.

We said: Honor the requirements of the extradition treaty, present credible evidence that Gulen is guilty of having conspired, and then we will let our process take its course.

Let me tell you what is interesting about making that offer in the context of the other elected officials, including Erdogan, saying: We have to let our legal process play out.

On the one hand, how can you say your hands are tied but on the other hand make a hostage swap request--or what they would consider to be a hostage swap request.

Maybe he just misspoke. Presidents do that from time to time.

Let's take a look at what we are dealing with now. A week ago, instead of offering Pastor Brunson for Mr. Gulen, now there is a new exchange on the table: If we drop a case against a Turkish bank, which has risen to our level of jurisprudence, the allegations against them are going to have to go through the legal process. Apparently, their judicial system does allow you to say: Well, if you drop that case in the gold standard for judicial systems--that is the U.S. judicial system--then, we will release Pastor Brunson.

Clearly, Turkey has the authority to release Pastor Brunson. Turkey has the authority to release a NASA scientist who happened to be visiting his family, who has been in prison for almost 3 years now, and has a 7-year sentence or another 4\1/2\ years ahead of him. They had the authority to release him. The only thing he seems to be guilty of is having been in Turkey visiting relatives when the coup attempt occurred.

They have the authority to release a DEA agent who they said was involved in the coup attempt. They have the authority to release a number of Turkish nationals who have worked with our Embassy for years. All they were doing was their job, and they were swept up, as thousands more have been.

Thank you again for the opportunity for me to come to the floor and make sure the American people understand what is at stake.

Turkey is a NATO ally. No NATO ally in the history of the alliance has ever illegally detained a citizen from one of their partner countries, but that is exactly what has happened here since October of 2016.

So I hope this is the last time I have to come to this floor to talk about releasing Pastor Brunson. I hope next week I am coming to the floor thanking the Turkish leadership for doing the right thing, thanking them for letting Pastor Brunson and his wife Norine come back to the United States, and advocating for a great relationship with Turkey as a NATO partner, which is very important. But none of that can happen as long as Pastor Brunson and the others that I have mentioned are illegally in prison.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I have come back again for the past several weeks and for every week I have to draw attention to what I think is a great injustice; that is, about this man, Andrew Brunson. Pastor Brunson has been in prison in Turkey since October of 2016. He has actually lived in Turkey for more than 20 years. He is a Presbyterian minister who is associated with the same church as the Reverend Billy Graham, in Western North Carolina.

He has been in Turkey doing missionary work and connecting with the Turkish people. He is not forcing the Word on anybody. He is simply sharing it with those who want to hear it. He has a small church in Izmir that only seats about 100 people. That started long after he started his mission.

He was living peacefully with his wife, Noreen, until October of 2016. That was shortly after the coup attempt--an illegal coup attempt--where anybody who was actually responsible for it should be in prison. It is not the appropriate way to change a regime in the United States or Turkey or in any other Western nation. After the coup attempt, President Erdogan of Turkey decided to implement emergency powers, which gives him the power to put anyone in prison. In fact, he put tens of thousands of people in prison--people in the military, people in the press, missionaries, NASA scientists--a number of people that I believe are illegally in prison, just like Pastor Brunson.

When this was brought to my attention about a year and a half ago, we treated it like casework. We were doing everything we could to get this North Carolinian, this U.S. citizen, released. After attempting to go through the diplomatic channels and recognizing that we were not making progress, we decided that we had to take other action.

This is actually a point where I would like to thank Senator Inhofe, who is now acting on Senator McCain's behalf as the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee. With the help of a number of Senators in this body and with the concurrence of the House, we have provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act that are trying to put Turkey on notice--in as respectful a way as possible, as a NATO ally--that Pastor Brunson should be released.

Pastor Brunson was arrested 663 days ago. Up until last week, he was in prison the entire time. As a matter of fact, for about 17 months, he was in a prison cell that was designed for 8 people that had 21 people in it. Then, he was moved to a prison cell that he shared with one other person and had no access to any outdoors--none of the standards you would have for our prisons for the worst of the worse. He had been incarcerated and had very limited contact. His wife remained in Turkey because she was afraid if she left, they wouldn't let her back. His kids haven't seen him for 2 years because they were afraid if they went to Turkey, the Turkish Government wouldn't let them leave.

Through a lot of efforts of President Trump, Vice President Pence, Ambassador Brownback, Senator Shaheen from New Hampshire, and a number of other Members--as a matter of fact, 72 Members of this body signed on to a letter that we sent to Turkey to express our concerns--we were at least able to get him into house arrest. Last week, he was released back in Izmir but limited to staying in the apartment he shares with his wife, Noreen.

That is a great step forward, but it is still an injustice. It is a better setting. The fact of the matter is, he is still incarcerated. He is incarcerated on some of the most absurd charges, and I firmly believe there is no first-year law student who couldn't derive a legal basis for saying that this person would not stay overnight in a U.S. jail. Yet he has been incarcerated for 663 days.

We are working very closely with the administration to try and take this positive step--his placement under house arrest--and to get him out of the country. I made a promise to Andrew Brunson. I visited him twice earlier this year, once in prison to let him know that he had people in Congress who cared about him and were going to share his story and make sure we didn't forget until he was released. Then, a little over a month later, I went back and spent 12 hours in a Turkish courtroom hearing the absurd charges levied against him. I am not going to get into the details now, but I will tell you that the indictment read like a fantasy. It is one that makes me so frustrated to think that this man could be kept in prison for 663 days.

I want to end my comments on a slightly more positive note. I want to thank the officials in Turkey who at least took the positive step to put him under house arrest. I spoke with him on Thursday afternoon. It was a very, very different experience. He had hope. He was able to spend time with his wife.

I was thrilled to see that because, frankly, after my time with him in the prison earlier this year, I was worried about him. He had lost 50 pounds. He was under great stress, as anybody would be if they were in a U.S. prison, let alone a Turkish prison. I want to thank the Turkish government for taking positive steps. It is one step in a journey that needs to get Pastor Brunson home.

Also, I want Turkey to realize that we know they are a NATO ally. We know that when you join NATO, we have an article 5 commitment. What article 5 means is that if any aggressor attacks you on your soil, the members of NATO are committed to sending their sons and daughters to defend your freedom. We are in agreement with Turkey right now that, if they were to be attacked by an aggressor, we absolutely would answer the call and go to Turkey to protect their homeland and protect their people.

All I am asking Turkey to do is, in the spirit of that agreement that we have had with Turkey since 1952, is to protect Andrew Brunson, to send Andrew Brunson home, and to get back and honor the tenets of the NATO alliance, the agreement we have with the family of nations in NATO. It starts first by respecting the individual liberties that each and every citizen in Turkey should have and each and every citizen in the United States enjoys.

I hope this is the last week you have to hear my speech. I hope that next week the speech is thanking Turkey for sending Pastor Brunson home. Make no mistake about it. For as long as Andrew Brunson is in prison, and as long as other people like a NASA scientist, like a DEA officer, like some of the Turkish Embassy staff who are Turkish citizens are in prison, we will continue to be a voice for people in Turkey who I think are illegally imprisoned.

Mr. President, thank you for the opportunity to speak on this today.

To the American people, I hope when you say your prayers tonight, you say one for Pastor Brunson.

Mr. President, I have 9 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority leaders.

Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, August 01, 2018, at 9:45 a.m., to conduct a business meeting and hearing on the following nominations: Rick A. Dearborn, of Oklahoma, to be a Director of the Amtrak Board of Directors, and Martin J. Oberman, of Illinois, to be a Member of the Surface Transportation Board.

Committee on Environment and Public Works

The Committee on Environment and Public Works is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, August 01, 2018, at 9:45 a.m., to conduct a business meeting and hearing on the following nominations: William Charles McIntosh, of Michigan, to be an Assistant Administrator, and Peter C. Wright, of Michigan, to be Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid Waste, both of the Environmental Protection Agency, Mary Bridget Neumayr, of Virginia, to be a Member of the Council on Environmental Quality, and John Fleming, of Louisiana, to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, and General Services Administration resolutions.

Committee on Environment and Public Works

The Committee on Environment and Public Works is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, August 01, 2018, at 10:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing.

Committee on Finance

The Committee on Finance is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, August 01, 2018, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing on the following nominations: Justin George Muzinich, of New York, to be Deputy Secretary, and Michael J. Desmond, of California, to be Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service and an Assistant General Counsel, both of the Department of the Treasury.

Committee on Foreign Relations

The Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, August 01, 2018, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing on the following nominations: R. Clarke Cooper, of Florida, to be an Assistant Secretary (Political-Military Affairs), and John Cotton Richmond, of Virginia, to be Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking, with the rank of Ambassador at Large, both of the Department of State.

Committee on the Judiciary

The Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, August 01, 2018, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing on the following nominations: Richard J. Sullivan, of New York, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit, Diane Gujarati, Eric Ross Komitee, and Rachel P. Kovner, each

to be a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York, John L. Sinatra, Jr., to be United States District Judge for the Western District of New York, and Lewis J. Liman, and Mary Kay Vyskocil, both to be a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York.

Committee on Veterans' Affairs

The Committee on Veterans' Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, August 01, 2018, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing.

Select Committee on Intelligence

The Select Committee on Intelligence is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, August 01, 2018, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing.

Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness

The Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, August 01, 2018, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing

Madam President, I also rise to make some comments about C.D., or as we all know him, Dick Spangler. I met him about 11 years ago--when I first got into the State legislature--in his office, which is just outside of downtown in Charlotte.

From every encounter from that point forward, I never left without learning something more. It could be on any number of topics.

I appreciate Senator Burr and all the comments about his legacy. He was amazing. He transformed the university system, made it one of the greatest in the Nation. He was a huge Tar Heels fan. I remember when we had a memorial service for a former University president, and C.D.--or Dick Spangler--spoke. Everybody had been saying this is a celebration, this is a celebration.

He got up and said: Folks, this is a very important memorial service, but a celebration is what you do just after the Tar Heels beat the tar out of Duke.

He loved the Tar Heels, and he loved the university system. He loved a modern North Carolina, an inclusive North Carolina, a North Carolina as a leader, leading on the integration of schools. I think what I remember most about Dick were those experiences I had in his office. It was easy for me to get to. Oftentimes, I would go there on a Monday before I would go to the airport to come here.

Every Monday for about 30 years, he had lunch for all of his employees, and he would be there. He would serve them lunch, and they would spend time together. I had the opportunity to do that on a few occasions. There were a couple of special times, after, we met in the conference room, and he would coach me on how I should present myself or on issues that were important for education and any number of things. He was truly a mentor.

He said: Would you like to see my shop?

This office out on Morehead Street is an unassuming office, just as humble as the off-the-rack suits this man wore all of his life or the old beat-up station wagon he would drive to the office. This was an amazing experience. You go into this office in the back, and it is nothing but a workshop. He loved fabricating metals, fixing the clockworks on grandfather clocks. He loved creating tools to teach kids how to learn. In fact, he gave me a homework assignment, which was basically a pyramid of ping-pong balls, and I had to use geometry to figure out the dimensions of the pyramid. He was always trying to get people to learn and get people to engage.

He engaged politically all of his life. Senator Burr said that you knew what was on his mind. If you were doing something in the legislature that was at odds with what he thought was in the best interest of the university system, I guarantee you, you were going to spend quality time with Dick Spangler, and you were more than likely going to embrace his opinion or his position because, in reality, he always made the university system better.

There is one quote I want to read. I think this was during an inaugural address. This is classic Dick Spangler: ``Some unpopular ideas, of course, don't deserve to be popular, ever, but they deserve to be aired.''

He believed universities were a place where all ideas should be considered, not because they have merit but because someone has a deeply held belief and should hear about them, and you should have discourse. That is something we can continue to learn from to this day.

I join Senator Burr and offer my condolences to Meredith, Anna and her husband Tom, and their other daughter, Abigail. He has left a great impression. His earthly presence is no longer here, but his legacy and impact in North Carolina will live for decades to come.

He has a daughter who has clearly been raised right because Anna serves on the board of governors, has served on the board of governors in the university system. She is actively involved in education pursuits in North Carolina.

Dick Spangler is still living among us, and his works will continue under his family's leadership and their belief in North Carolina.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.

To Meredith, to Anna, Abigail, and Tom, our thoughts and prayers are with you. Thank you for blessing us and having some time to share with Dick Spangler.

I yield the floor.