Grade 4 of 5: Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern
April 2018 Strikes on Syrian Chemical-Weapons Facilities Without UN or Congressional Authorisation
Trump ordered a second round of missile strikes on the Syrian government, this time with Britain and France, after a chemical attack in Douma. The strikes had no Security Council mandate and no congressional authorisation. The legal opinion written to justify them widened the President's claimed power to use force on his own.