{
  "id": 20170931,
  "title": "Investigate Trump Like a Mob Boss",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/15/investigate-trump-like-a-mob-boss",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-15T12:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Atlantic",
    "slug": "the-atlantic",
    "url": "https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/11/trump-investigation-strategy/689427/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The lead investigator on this story suggests that Congress should investigate the Trump administration using tactics typically employed to dismantle organized crime families. Just as prosecutors start by targeting lower-level players and building cases up the ladder, Congress should focus on scrutinizing the administration's inner circle and those directly tied to Trump. The attorney general is unlikely to pursue such investigations, but Congress possesses the same investigative tools used in criminal cases. By issuing subpoenas, granting immunity to witnesses, enforcing compliance through contempt proceedings, and even voting to hold witnesses in contempt, Congress can compel the production of relevant documents and testimony. While the administration and Trump's closest associates are expected to resist, private companies and individuals may be more cooperative, providing valuable lower-level evidence for further investigation. Even though Trump's pardon power looms large, it does not absolve witnesses from testifying before Congress, and a preemptive pardon could make invoking the Fifth Amendment more difficult. By focusing on congressional investigations, Democrats can avoid the pitfalls of impeachment, which often fails to remove a president and fuels their martyr complex. Instead, congressional hearings can document the misconduct of Trump's administration and those surrounding him, ultimately informing the public's vote in 2028.",
  "summary": "Democrats will be tempted to go directly after Trump. They should focus first on the misconduct of those around him.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}