mr. mckeon you are the attorney on the panel so to me with that legal standard for a person to determine whether or not these legal principles have been satisfied. so is the standard that no reasonable person could conclude the order was necessary or proportional or is there another vehicle standard or is that left strategically vague? what is the recourse if in fact, a military person decided not to move forward based on principle reasons grounded of military necessity and proportionality? so if they do what they are taught to make known their decision and refuses to obey that order what recourse does the commander in chief have in the wake of such a decision? and the last observation is that i am unaware as others are as well but that discernment training and to apply those legal principles. so considering those legal questions in the defense seems to state with legal determinations. so with those contingencies to help sharpen the ability to apply the facts with those global circumstances so if you like to comment on those observations starting with mr. mckeon as the council president.

mr. mckeon?. >> certainly if they were to initiate a war with another nuclear state we could see that in the constitutional sense congress should authorize but if we are under attack using nuclear weapons from a nuclear state thepresident does have authority to respond but the hardest question is the in between question from senator johnson wears you define a minute on the continuum. it would be very specific but the most obvious case is the missile on the of launch pad with good intelligence they intend to name those that the united states that seems pretty clear case of an imminent fed you move down the continuingg where looks more like it is preventative. >> i would say distinguishing between scenariosen of the of military weeks of the president for the president wakes up of military. but if the military says there is about to be an attack and the said a the presidentt has a very limited window to make a decision he alone would have the authority and i think we all believe they would carry of t

mr. mckeon for joining us today and for sitting through the business meeting over the last 15 minutes. a number of members on both sides of the aisle of this on and off the committee have raised questions about the executive's authorities with respect to war making. and the use of nuclear weapons and from a diplomatic perspective entering into and terminating

mr. mckeon said in ambiguity. president after president has been created around whether or not they are going to defer to our authority. so this is the hearing, this the place. i'm glad thank you are kicking it off. i don't think the assurances i received today would be satisfying to the american people. i think they can still realize that donald trump can launch nuclear codes just as easily as he can use his twitter account, without a check and balance the united states congress would be seeking and constitutionally responsible to exercise. i think this has been a historic hearing and i hope there's more to follow. >> thank each of you for being here. i cannot imagine having a more balanced panel, a more sober panel. i think this was edifying for members of the committee but also the american public. we thank you for that. we thank you for your service to our country, being here and previous service in other ways. and i think you know there's typically follow-up questions. if you could first of all, committee mem

mr. mckeon for joining us today and for sitting through the business meeting over the last 15 minutes. a number of members on both sides of the aisle of this on and off the committee have raised questions about the executive's authorities with respect to war making. and the use of nuclear weapons and from a diplomatic perspective entering into and terminating agreements with other countries. as i've mentioned publicly, this is one in a series of hearings where our committee will examine all of these issues, but today it's my hope that we will remain focused on the topic at hand, the authority and the process for the use of nuclear weapons. the congressional research service tells us this is the first time that the foreign relations committee of the senate or house has met on this topic since 1976, 41 years ago. making the decision go to war of any sort is a heavy responsibility for our nation's elected leaders, and the decision to use nuclear weapons is the most consequential of all. the atomic energy act of 1946 and the subsequent practices recognize that the use of nuclear weapons mu