Andrew Brunson is back on U.S. soil

UPDATE: U.S. Pastor Andrew Brunson met with and prayed for President Donald Trump in the Oval Office just one day after a court released him from detention in Izmir, Turkey, where he lived and worked for more than 20 years. Trump welcomed the pastor and members of his family and told them, “We’ve been negotiating long and hard” for his release. He said members of Congress from both parties were involved in the push: “If there was ever a bipartisan event, this is it.” The president also said that he and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo thought they had worked out details of Brunson’s release two months ago, but it ended up taking longer.

After thanking members of the Trump administration and the Senate, Brunson knelt down, placed his hand on Trump’s shoulder, and prayed in Jesus’ name for God’s blessing on the president. “Pour out your Holy Spirit on President Trump that you give him supernatural wisdom to accomplish all the plans you have for this country and for him,” Brunson prayed. “We bless him. May he be a great blessing to our country.” Norine Brunson closed the prayer by asking God to give Trump “the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord,” a reference to Isaiah 11:2.

OUR EARLIER REPORT (12:25 p.m.): Pastor Andrew Brunson has arrived at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C., after nearly two years of detention in Turkey and is scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Saturday. A Turkish judge on Friday ordered the release of Brunson, whose captivity on trumped-up charges of espionage and terror led the United States to levy crushing economic sanctions against Turkey. Trump tweeted Saturday that though he made “no deal” for Brunson’s freedom, appreciation for his release “will lead to good, perhaps great, relations between the United States & Turkey!”

Brunson was freed Friday after a dramatic court hearing in which witnesses against him changed their testimonies. Hours later, he flew out of Turkey to a U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, for a medical checkup. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, traveled from Germany to the United States with the Brunsons and tweeted they had landed at 12:04 p.m. Eastern time.

“I love Jesus. I love Turkey,” an emotional Brunson, who had maintained his innocence, told the court at Friday’s hearing. Brunson, originally from Black Mountain, N.C., lived in Turkey for 23 years and pastored Izmir Resurrection Church.;