WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Wednesday blasted the Trump administration for moving forward with bringing Turkish President Erdogan to the White House:

"New evidence is emerging of Turkey’s proxy forces in Syria committing war crimes, just as an increasingly authoritarian Erdogan is poised to walk into the West Wing for a big bear hug from President Trump. The White House knows the leverage that comes with granting an Oval Office meeting, because they tried to use this leverage to corruptly pressure Ukrainian President Zelensky to investigate the Bidens,” said Murphy. “But in this case, Trump could have used the allure of a White House meeting for purposes actually connected to American interests, like pressuring Erdogan to crack down on Turkish-backed war crimes in Syria. Instead, Trump is going to telegraph to the entire world how much he supports the Turkish invasion, and how enthusiastic he is about his double-cross of our Kurdish allies."

Murphy continued: “We have no Syria policy. We have no Turkey policy. We have no Middle East policy. It's just the president's twitter feed and these disastrous, unplanned, off the cuff meetings with regional leaders. What an ongoing national security nightmare for the United States."

On Monday, Murphy met with Enes Kanter to talk about the Turkish incursion in Syria, Erdogan’s abysmal human rights record, and the assault on the Kurds.

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