It has been roughly two months since President Trump delivered an address to explain why he decided to launch a limited military operation against Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria. The United States and the civilized world, Trump declared, could not stand by and allow a murderous dictator to drop chemical munitions on his own people. There needed to be some accountability, and according to the White House, the only way to deliver that accountability was for Washington and its allies to launch military strikes.

While the speech may have been emotionally satisfying, Trump failed to address the legality of the operation. Why, for instance, did Trump believe that using military force against another government — however despicable that government is — without expressed authorization from Congress was a constitutional action? Thanks to a recently released legal memorandum from the Office of Legal Counsel, we now have that legal rationale — and for those who cherish the very system of checks and balances that the American republic was founded upon, the OLC’s opinion is one more terrifying step toward an unrestrained executive branch on matters of war and peace.