after being ousted by his own people. if convicted, he could face the death penalty. and libya. bombings, receiving a vote of confidence led by john mccain. the mission's future may hinge on a law on the book nearly four decades. a sitting president must get congressional approval after 60 days of military operations under the war powers act. a handful of republican lawmakers led by kentucky senator rand paul say the deadline has passed and they want answers from the white house now. a professor of international law at yale university is with us this morning to discuss this. here's a piece of a letter from rand paul, and i want to quote from it. it says as recently at last week indicated use of the united armed forceless continue indefinitely. therefore, we are writing to ask whether you intend to comply with the requirements of the war powers resolution. we await your response. will you give us a general description of the war powers act and what president obama's