Trump Threatens Russia With ‘Large Scale Sanctions and Tariffs’

Headline USA Editor
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Trump Threatens Russia With ‘Large Scale Sanctions and Tariffs’

(Kyle Anzalone, Antiwar.com) President Donald Trump threatened to intensify the US economic war on Russia with large scale sanctions and tariffs. Trump’s post followed massive Russian attacks on Ukraine.

Trump wrote on Friday, “Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED. To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late. Thank you!!!”

The President issued the threat following an overnight Russian attack on Ukraine’s power and gas facilities that deployed over 250 missiles and drones. Kiev says it used F-16s, and for the first time, French-made Mirage-2000 fighter jets to repel the attack.

Ukraine reported destroying most of the drones but only half of the 70 missiles Russia launched. Kiev has a policy of not discussing successful Russian attacks, so it is unclear what was destroyed. At least eight people were injured in the attack.

Kiev and Moscow have increasingly targeted the other’s energy infrastructure throughout the war. On Tuesday, the Ukrainian military claimed to have struck two pipelines, two oil refineries, and a fuel storage facility in Russia, including an oil refinery in the Samara Oblast about 500 miles from the frontlines.

Since taking office, Trump has made ending the war in Ukraine a priority. Officials in his administration have engaged in several rounds of talks with Russia. In a major success, the two superpowers agreed to restore diplomatic relations.

Ukrainian President Zelensky resisted Trump’s demand to begin talks to end the war, and did not sign a mineral deal with the US. Trump then cut military aid and intelligence support for Kiev, with members of his administration saying it could be restarted if Ukraine engaged in talks with Russia.

Trump is now saying he will increase pressure on Russia not to exploit the reduced US support for Ukraine, and enter into talks. However, it’s unclear how much economic pressure Washington can put on Moscow at this point. After President Vladimit Putin invaded Ukraine, Biden worked with the European Union to place several rounds of sanctions on Russia, aimed at “crippling” the Russian economy.

Three years into the war, Moscow has weathered the economic war by developing deeper ties with countries outside of Washington’s orbit. The Western sanctions were intended to bring the Russian war machine to a halt, but Moscow has been able to invest considerable resources in protruding arms and upgrading its military.

This article originally appeared at The Libertarian Institute.

Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com and news editor of the Libertarian Institute. He hosts The Kyle Anzalone Show and is co-host of Conflicts of Interest with Connor Freeman.

Idaho Eliminates Income Taxes on Gold and Silver

Money Metals News Service
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Idaho Eliminates Income Taxes on Gold and Silver

(Sound Money Defense League, Money Metals News Service) Idaho yesterday formally ended state income taxes on gold and silver as part of its largest tax cut in state history.

House Bill 40, sponsored by House Speaker Mike Moyle and begrudgingly signed by the state’s liberal Republican governor Brad Little, provides a sweeping $253 million income tax cut for Idahoan taxpayers by lowering the rate from 5.695% to 5.3% while also adding two specific exemptions.

The new law includes a tax-neutral provision whereby taxpayers back out any “net capital gains or losses that meet the definition of precious metal bullion or monetized bullion… included in the taxpayer’s federal adjusted gross income.”

Idaho already had a long-standing sales tax exemption on purchases of precious metals. By exempting income connected with precious metals sales, it now becomes less difficult for gold and silver to resume their constitutional role as money in Idaho. All tax cuts contained in HB 40 take effect as of January 1, 2025, pursuant to the bill’s emergency provisions.

Championed by Speaker Moyle and supported by the Sound Money Defense League and Money Metals Exchange, HB 40 received overwhelming support in both chambers of the Idaho legislature, reflecting a recognition of the importance of sound money principles at a time of blistering inflation.

Moyle said today, “I’m proud to help secure another $253 million in income tax cuts for Idaho families. Meanwhile, it makes no sense for Idaho to tax gold and silver, the only money mentioned in the U.S. Constitution.”

Political observers have noted that Governor Little appears worried about the potential of a conservative primary challenger in the upcoming 2026 election and also faces a high likelihood of veto overrides, so he has signed bills this session that the liberal Republican might normally be expected to veto.

Last year, Little violated his fiduciary duty to taxpayers by vetoing a bill that would have merely permitted, not required, the State Treasurer to hold physical gold to hedge risks endemic to the state’s large debt paper holdings.

Jp Cortez, executive director of the Sound Money Defense League, stressed the importance of Idaho’s new stance towards the precious metals, stating “Taxpayers are not permitted to deduct losses when the purchasing power of the Federal Reserve note declines, so it would be unfair to impose income taxes when gold and silver rise in nominal value largely as a result of currency debasement.”

“Idaho is now the 14th state without income taxes on gold and silver, following Alabama and Nebraska, which enacted similar exemptions last year,” Cortez continued.

Idaho joins its neighbor Wyoming as the first two states to enact sound money legislation so far in 2025. Last month, Wyoming enacted a law establishing a state reserve fund of no less than $10 million in physical gold — only months after the State of Utah had greenlighted a $180 million physical gold holding as part of its own state reserves.

Idaho’s current ranking of 14th in the 2025 Sound Money Index is expected to rise to a top-five ranking with the passage of House Bill 40.

Sound Money Defense League is a non-partisan public policy group working nationally since 2014 to restore gold and silver as sound money – America’s constitutional money. The League, in partnership with Money Metals, also publishes the annual Sound Money Index.

Donald Trump Reiterates His Call for Getting Rid of Nukes

Headline USA Editor
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Donald Trump Reiterates His Call for Getting Rid of Nukes

(Headline USA) President Donald Trump appears to be serious about his vision for a world without nuclear weapons. 

On Thursday, during a White House press briefing, Trump stressed yet again his desire to get rid of nukes. 

“It would be great if everybody would get rid of their nuclear weapons. [I know] Russia and us have by far the most,” the president said to reporters. “China will have an equal amount within four to five years. It would be great if we could all de-nuclearize because the power of nuclear weapons is crazy.”

So far, only nine nations — the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel — have nuclear armaments. 

As the current international order breaks down, nations are increasingly retooling their nuclear arsenals and even expanding them to confront the challenges of great power competition. 

Per reports from the Defense Intelligence Agency, China has plans of increasing its production of nuclear weapons. In 2024, the agency issued a projection that China could have north of 1,000 nuclear weapons within its arsenal. 

In the first days of his second term, Trump claims to have spoken with President Vladimir Putin about denuclearization during his first term, and that Putin was interested in the proposal. “We were talking about denuclearization of our two countries, and China would have come along. China right now has a much smaller nuclear armament than us, or field, than us, but they’re going to be catching [up] at some point,” Trump revealed.

“I will tell you that President Putin really liked the idea of cutting back on nuclear, and I think the rest of the world, we would have gotten them to follow, and China would have come along too. China also liked it,” he continued. “Tremendous amounts of money are being spent on nuclear, and the destructive capability is something that we don’t even want to talk about. It’s too depressing.”

In a similar vein, Trump has floated the idea of hammering out a deal with China and Russia to have all three nuclear powers sharply slash defense spending. 

Adapted from reporting by Kyle Anzalone the Libertarian Institute. 

Donald Trump Moves to Suspend Security Clearances of Perkins Coie Over Actions Connected to Russiagate

Headline USA Editor
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Donald Trump Moves to Suspend Security Clearances of Perkins Coie Over Actions Connected to Russiagate

(Headline USA) President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to suspend the security clearances of attorneys at Perkins Coie — a prominent law firm connected to Democratic-funded opposition during the 2016 presidential election cycle. 

This move by the Trump administration is the latest in a series of retaliatory actions against Justice Department prosecutors, spooks, and attorneys that participated in the multi-year  investigation into Trump for allegedly colluding with Russia to get elected in 2016. Special Counsel John Durham later found that the DOJ never had enough evidence to launch a full investigation in the first place.

“This is an absolute honor to sign. What they’ve done is just terrible. It’s weaponization — you could say weaponization against a political opponent, and it should never be allowed to happen again,” Trump declared after he received the executive order at the Oval Office.

The executive order instructs the attorney general, the director of national intelligence, and other relevant agency chiefs to “take steps consistent with applicable law to suspend any active security clearances held by individuals at Perkins Coie, pending a review of whether such clearances are consistent with the national interest.” 

On top of that, it directs agency chiefs to limit access to government buildings by attorneys at Perkins Coie “when such access would threaten the national security of or otherwise be inconsistent with the interests of the United States.” The order also calls for the relevant agency chiefs to identify and cancel the building contracts they have with Perkins Coie. 

Previous research by Headline USA found that Perkins Coie was running an FBI workspace in their office in Washington, D.C. since 2012. 

A spokesperson for Perkins Coie released a statement criticizing the executive order: “We have reviewed the Executive Order. It is patently unlawful, and we intend to challenge it.”

The executive order stems from Perkins Coie’ hiring of Fusion GPS, a research and intelligence firm, to carry out opposition research on then-candidate Trump’s potential connections to Russia. 

Fusion GPS hired British spy Christopher Steele to craft several reports — better known as the dossier — that would later be circulated among journalists and government officials in Washington throughout the campaign. The dossier argued that Russia was involved in a multi-year effort to elect Donald Trump and created a major scandal — Russiagate — throughout his presidency that prevented any normalization of relations between Russia and the United States. 

Further, the Perkins Coie executive order also asserted that the law firm was conducting illegal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Most of the Above Ground Silver Stock Is Not Available to Satisfy Demand

Money Metals News Service
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Most of the Above Ground Silver Stock Is Not Available to Satisfy Demand

(Mike Maharrey, Money Metals News Service) The silver market is forecast to record a fifth straight market deficit in 2025, with demand once again outstripping supply, and the majority of the existing above ground silver stocks are not available to satisfy demand — at any price.

According to analysis by the Silver Institute, silver price movement doesn’t correlate with changes in above ground stocks.

“Once only a storehouse of wealth, for instance in bars, silverware, jewelry, and coins, items that stay mostly as they were produced – and largely unavailable to the market – silver has become an industrial metal that usually gets consumed or otherwise taken out of circulation except for recycling, whose effect can vary.”

This is bad news given the rapidly increasing demand for silver, especially for industrial use.

Movements in bullion stocks do have an impact on the silver price and vice versa, but according to the Silver Institute, the vast majority of above ground silver stocks are “immobile.” There are only small net additions or subtractions from these stocks on an annual basis.

Some other notes from the Silver Institute report:

  • Increases in bullion stocks are often positively correlated with the price, as investment demand grows when silver prices increase, which still stimulates higher prices.
  • Multi-year drawdowns in bullion stocks have tended to occur in bear markets for silver and have exacerbated these. However, these drawdowns have typically set silver up for more substantial rallies as investors have rebuilt their bullion holdings.
  • Above-ground stocks of fabricated products are less price-sensitive than those of bullion. Only specific subsets of silver fabrication demand show a sensitivity to the price, such as jewelry and silverware.

The bottom line is that growing silver demand will primarily need to be filled by mine output. But silver production has plateaued in recent years, and the trajectory moving forward is uncertain.

Silver mine output peaked in 2016 at 900 million ounces. Up until last year, silver production had dropped by an average of 1.4 percent each year. In 2023, mines produced 814 million ounces of silver.

Based on preliminary data, silver mine output increased by about 2 percent in 2024, breaking a trend of declining silver production, however, this isn’t nearly enough to meet demand.

According to Metals Focus, a combination of reserve depletion, mine closures, and a 20 percent drop in ore grades drove sagging mine output.

This is why we’ve seen market deficits for several consecutive years.

Silver supply is expected to grow by 3 percent this year, but it won’t be nearly enough to feed growing demand. This will lead to a 149 million-ounce market deficit. While the gap between supply and demand will shrink by about 19 percent from last year’s level, it will remain “sizeable historically.”

This is yet another reason to think silver is set up to shine.

Mike Maharrey is a journalist and market analyst for MoneyMetals.com with over a decade of experience in precious metals. He holds a BS in accounting from the University of Kentucky and a BA in journalism from the University of South Florida.

Record North American Gold Inflows Drive Global ETF Holdings Higher for Third Straight Month

Money Metals News Service
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Record North American Gold Inflows Drive Global ETF Holdings Higher for Third Straight Month

(Mike Maharrey, Money Metals News Service) Led by North American funds, ETF gold holdings grew globally for the third straight month.

ETFs in every region reported inflows of gold totaling 108.3 tonnes. That drove total ETF gold holdings to 3,353 tons, the highest month-end level since July 2023.

In dollar terms, monthly inflows totaled $9.4 billion. It was the strongest month since March 2022.

The combination of metal accumulation and the rising gold price increased total assets under management (AUM) by gold-backed funds by 4.1 percent to $306 billion. This was a month-end record.

North American funds led the way with a huge surge in gold holdings the week of Feb. 21. That week, North American ETFs added over 48 tonnes of gold. The last time we saw weekly flows at that level was April 2020 as governments were locking down economies during the COVID-19 pandemic. This helped push total inflows to 72.2 tonnes on the month.

It was the largest increase in North American ETF gold holdings since July 2020 and the biggest February increase on record.

According to the World Gold Council, news of physical shipments of gold into COMEX vaults from London and other markets helped drive broader market momentum.

“But there were other important contributors. For instance, US Treasury rates trended down with various economic signals flashing red. Lower yields, alongside a weaker dollar, boded well for the gold price during most of the month – in fact, it reached nine new record highs in February before moving lower in the latter half. We believe reduced opportunity costs and a record-shattering gold price were key in attracting inflows. Moreover, a pullback in equity markets and fears of stagflation were also likely positive drivers of demand. Lastly, we have observed significant inflows triggered by gold ETFs’ options expiry, signaling further bullish sentiment from investors.”

Europe reported modest inflows of 2 tonnes. Gold flowed out of funds in the UK, while ETFs in Germany and Switzerland booked gains.

The European Central Bank cut interest rates for the sixth straight time at its March meeting. This could drive increased European interest in gold in the months ahead.

Asian funds added 24.4 tonnes of gold in February. China led the way, despite positive sentiments surrounding its equity markets. A surging gold price in yuan grabbed market attention, causing the Baidu Search Index of the keyword “gold” to surge to the highest level since 2013.

Indian ETFs also reported strong inflows of gold, although moderating from record levels in January.

Japanese-based funds reported increased gold holdings for the fifth straight month.

Fund in other regions grew their gold holdings by 1.3 tonnes. Australian ETFs charted the strongest month since September 2024. There were also notable inflows in South African funds.

Trading Activity

Global gold trading activity increased in February, averaging around $300 billion per day. Over the counter (OTC) trading rose, driven by the London market as dealers moved gold to New York.

Gold futures trading volumes at COMEX dipped, while Shanghai Futures Exchange saw a sizable increase in activity with the surging gold price in yuan terms.

Total net longs at the COMEX dropped by 13 percent to 823 tonnes. Net long position of money managers plunged by 16 percent, but still finished February 9 percent above the 2024 average.

Big Picture

Inflows of gold into ETFs can have a significant impact on the global gold market by pushing overall demand higher.

A gold ETF is backed by a trust company that holds metal owned and stored by the trust. In most cases, investing in an ETF does not entitle you to any amount of physical gold. You own a share of the ETF, not gold itself.

ETFs are a convenient way for investors to play the gold market, but owning ETF shares is not the same as holding physical gold.

ETFs are relatively liquid. You can buy or sell an ETF with a couple of mouse clicks. You don’t have to worry about transporting or storing metal. In a nutshell, it allows investors to play the gold market without buying full ounces of metal at the spot price.

Since you are just buying a number in a computer, you can easily trade your ETF shares for another stock or cash whenever you want, even multiple times on the same day. Many speculative investors take advantage of this liquidity.

But while a gold ETF is a convenient way to play the price of gold on the market, you don’t actually possess any gold. You have paper. And you don’t know for sure that the fund has all the gold either, especially when the fund sees inflows. In such a scenario, there have been difficulties or delays in obtaining physical metal.

Mike Maharrey is a journalist and market analyst for MoneyMetals.com with over a decade of experience in precious metals. He holds a BS in accounting from the University of Kentucky and a BA in journalism from the University of South Florida.

Did Biden’s Handlers Forge His Signature? Study Raises Questions

Luis Cornelio
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Did Biden’s Handlers Forge His Signature? Study Raises Questions

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) President Joe Biden may not have personally signed all of his orders, according to a signature analysis by The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project. 

A Heritage study of Biden’s signatures on publicly available documents concluded that the White House reused the same digital signature on each document. This practice raises questions about whether Biden was aware of some of the orders being released under his name. 

“Whoever controlled the autopen controlled the presidency,” Heritage wrote on X, noting that the only document not featuring the same signature was Biden’s letter announcing his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race.

Heritage’s findings come amid mounting scrutiny over allegations that a handful of unelected bureaucrats were effectively governing the nation rather than Biden himself. 

Such concerns intensified in January when Biden told House Speaker Mike Johnson that he did not recall signing an executive order pausing exports of liquefied natural gas. 

Johnson pressed Biden on why such an order had been signed, to which Biden replied, “I didn’t do that.” 

Johnson recalled responding, “Mr. President, yes you did. It was an executive order, like, three weeks ago.” 

Biden doubled down, maintaining that he never signed the executive order. 

These revelations prompted Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey to call on the DOJ to investigate whether Biden’s cognitive decline allowed his officials to secretly sign orders or make decisions without his consent. 

“If in fact Biden’s staffers were exploiting his mental decline, those orders are null and void,” Bailey wrote in the letter addressed to DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz. 

“Who has been running the country for the last few years? I fear that Mr. Biden, while he held the office of President, did so in name only and was a mere puppet for far-left, unelected staffers. The people deserve to know the truth,” Bailey added later in the letter. 

Dem Paints Trump’s First Weeks as Worst in US History—Worse Than 9/11?

Luis Cornelio
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Dem Paints Trump’s First Weeks as Worst in US History—Worse Than 9/11?

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Rep. Eugene Vindman, D‑Va., suggested on Thursday that President Donald Trump’s initial weeks in office were unprecedentedly worse than any other administration in the nation’s history. 

Vindman—who rose to fame in left-wing circles after Trump ousted him from the White House amid his first impeachment—made these comments during a Thursday interview on MSNBC Reports with host José Díaz-Balart. 

“I’m hard-pressed to think of the worst 45 days self-inflicted by any administration in this country’s history whether it’s turning away from our values or the economy,” Vindman declared, comparing Trump’s tenure with past national crises. 

Vindman’s claims came as a part of his response to Díaz-Balart’s question about his perspective on American values, considering he had fled the Soviet Union as a child. 

“You talk about oppression, and I keep thinking about the people of Cuba […]; what’s going on in Venezuela; what’s going on in Nicaragua; what’s going on in Iran since 1979 […] How do you feel every day when you get to go to Capitol Hill and knowing that you were born in a country that, at the time, was under the boot of the Soviet Union?” Díaz-Balart asked. 

Reflecting on his journey from refugee to member of Congress, Vindman said he embodied the American dream but suggested it was now at risk under Trump’s presidency. 

“Up to this point, this country has always had the American dream; it’s been alive. When you come to this country as a refugee […] and end up in Congress representing almost 800,000 Americans, what better representation of the American dream is there?” 

Yet he warned, “That’s been true up until this point, but we’re seeing such a rapid retreat in these first 45 days, like I said it’s an abomination.” 

The White House scolded Vindman’s comments, declaring former President Joe Biden’s days in office as tragic for America. “Vindman has a terminal case of Trump Derangement Syndrome — and it shows,” the White House wrote in a press statement.

Hunter Biden Wants His Laptop Lawsuit Thrown Out, Claims He Is Broke

Maire Clayton
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Hunter Biden Wants His Laptop Lawsuit Thrown Out, Claims He Is Broke

(Maire Clayton, Headline USA) Hunter Biden wants a judge to throw out his laptop lawsuit after claiming he is now broke, according to the New York Post.

The 55-year-old tried to drop his lawsuit against a former aide to President Donald Trump. He previously accused the aide of publishing an online database of emails from the infamous laptop.

Biden’s lawyers filed the motion Wednesday in California. The filing stated he has not been successful in selling art as he claimed he last sold one in December 2023.

“In the 2 to 3 years prior to December 2023, I sold 27 pieces for art at an average price of $54,481.48, but since then I have only sold 1 piece of art for $36,000,” Biden’s lawyers claimed on his behalf.

The filing also claimed his financial problems were “exacerbated” by the Pacific Palisades wildfires that swept through California in January.

“Like many others in that situation, I am having difficulty in finding a new permanent place to live,” he claimed in the motion.

It was previously reported that over 200 pieces of Biden’s artwork were destroyed in the fire, as it was being stored in Hollywood attorney Kevin Morris home.

“[Hunter] has suffered a significant downturn in his income and has significant debt in the millions of dollars range,” the filing continued.

Garrett Ziegler, the former aide Biden was suing, spoke with the Post and ripped into former first son.

“Hunter wants to cry uncle. We are OPPOSING that. We want our attorney’s fees to be paid, for Hunter to cease lying about us and me, and just generally to shut the f**k up,” Ziegler said. “This is an abuse of the legal system. It can’t stand. Our tiny nonprofit had to scrape together legal fees for nearly 2 years to deal with this Peter Pan like manchild.”

Democrats Sang In Solidarity During Al Green’s Censure on House Floor

Jose Nino
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Democrats Sang In Solidarity During Al Green’s Censure on House Floor

(José Niño, Headline USA) When Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, was censured on the House floor this Thursday, his Democratic colleagues gathered around him to sing in protest of the vote. 

Democratic members started singing “We Shall Overcome”, a civil rights anthem, after Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., read the censure. This House floor disturbance prompted Johnson to gavel the House into recess. 

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., observed, “Due to inclement, weird behavior from the Left, we had to pause the censure of Rep. Al Green.”

Green was censured for his disruptive protest during President Trump’s address to Congress this past Tuesday. In that incident, Green stood up and shouted at Trump during the speech.

He waved his black cane in Trump’s direction and refused to take his seat when Speaker Johnson ordered him to do so. Green loudly interrupted the president, asserting Trump does not have a mandate to slash Medicaid funding.

Despite warnings from Speaker Johnson for Green to stop and maintain decorum, Green continued his disruptive protest and was eventually removed from the chamber.

The House approved the resolution by a 224-198-2 vote, with 10 Democrats joining Republicans to censure Green. 

As Johnson began reading the resolution, Green was joined by other Democratic elected officials from the Congressional Black Caucus and other coalitions to sing “We Shall Overcome,” which caused a scene on the House floor. 

On two occasions, Johnson called for order, but the group of Democrat lawmakers continued singing. 

After the censure vote took place, Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., revealed his plans to put forward resolutions to strip lawmakers who were singing on the House floor of their committee assignments.

“Today, a group of House Democrats broke decorum during the censure of Rep. Al Green and, after multiple warnings, refused to heed @SpeakerJohnson’s order,” Ogles stated in a post on X. “I am drafting privileged resolutions to remove each of them from their committees. If you want to act like a child in the Halls of Congress, you will be treated like a child.”

Further, the House Freedom Caucus is crafting a resolution to strip Green from his committees.

“We expect @SpeakerJohnson to bring it to the House floor for a vote next week,” House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.) declared in a statement. “Green was censured in a bipartisan vote but he needs real consequences to demonstrate that no one gets to disrupt the People’s business in lame attempts to derail President Trump’s agenda.”

Green is the representative of Texas’ 9th congressional district, which he has represented since 2005.

José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino

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