By Peter Nicholas 

WASHINGTON -- President Trump signaled Friday that Turkey could face additional consequences for holding an American pastor on disputed espionage charges, saying, "We are not going to take it sitting down."

Mr. Trump, speaking to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House before departing for a trip to New York state, said of Turkey: "They can't take our people."

"So you will see what happens," Mr. Trump said.

The Trump administration has been working for the release of Andrew Brunson, who has been held for nearly two years on charges of aiding terrorist groups. On Friday, a Turkish court, the 3rd High Criminal Court, rejected Mr. Brunson's latest appeal against his house arrest and ban on leaving the country, according to state-run media.

Mr. Brunson's lawyer had applied to the higher court after his appeal was rejected by a lower court on Wednesday.

Barring any surprise development, Mr. Brunson is due to appear in court on Oct. 12 for a hearing in his trial during which judges are expected to audition additional witnesses. Since the trial began in April, the court has gathered three times for a combined 30 hours.

At a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the U.S. was prepared to take tougher steps if Turkey didn't free Mr. Brunson.

The U.S. dispute with Turkey has been intensifying, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rebuffs U.S. demands for Mr. Brunson's release. The U.S. imposed economic sanctions two weeks ago on two top Turkish officials, and the countries have imposed tariffs on each other's goods, leading to sharp declines in Turkey's currency.

Mr. Erdogan has warned that he could forsake the U.S. and turn to Russia if the Trump administration keeps up the pressure.

Mr. Trump, in his latest remarks, made clear his displeasure with Turkey.

"Turkey has been a problem for a long time," he said. "They've not acted as a friend. We'll see what happens."

He described Mr. Brunson as a "wonderful man" who is "not a spy."

"He's going through a trial right now -- if you call it a trial," Mr. Trump said. "They should have given him back a long ago. Turkey has in my opinion acted very, very badly. So, we haven't seen the last of that."

--Yeliz Candemir in Istanbul contributed to this article.

Write to Peter Nicholas at peter.nicholas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 17, 2018 14:07 ET (18:07 GMT)

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