MSNBC legal analyst Nick Ackerman said Sunday pastor Andrew Brunson is not "still a resident of North Carolina" and Trump’s concern about his imprisonment in Turkey was "purely political."
Brunson was imprisoned on terrorism charges but U.S. officials demanded his release, and Brunson and his wife, who had been released, denied the charge. On MSNBC's "Up" hosted by David Gura, Ackerman cast doubt on Trump's motives.
"This pastor has been gone from the United States for 22 years. So it is not like he's still a resident of North Carolina," Ackerman said. "This is being done purely for political purposes."
Brunson is from Black Mountain, North Carolina, and is a U.S. citizen. As all missionaries do, he has spent years abroad leading his mission. However, the MSNBC panel took issue with North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr (R.) saying Brunson’s Christian work was "absolutely crucial, and it’s a foundational thing about this country, the United States."
Gura said Burr’s comment goes against the separation of church and state.
"We have a rich tradition of the separation of Church and state in this country, and to hear a member of the U.S. State say that spreading the word of Jesus Christ is a foundational thing in this country...your reaction to it?" Gura asked Ackerman with a laugh.
That’s when Ackerman brought up Brunson’s status as a "resident of North Carolina."
"Trump doesn’t care about separation of church and state," Ackerman added.
Ackerman then brought the discussion into Trump’s attitude toward world leaders and his lack of "American values."
"Trump just has a distorted values that are not American values that do not take into account the precepts on human rights and the liberal policies the world has adopted since the end of World War II," Ackerman said.
Brunson wept earlier this week when a court ruled he was allowed to finally be freed, after strong pressure from the U.S.
"I am an innocent man. I love Jesus, I love Turkey," he said.
Witnesses against Brunson said testimonies attributed to them were inaccurate, and U.S. officials excoriated Turkey for trying to use Brunson to get to Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who lives in the U.S.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims Gulen was behind a coup attempt in 2016.