Nvidia chief told Trump he did not know Chinese woman was suspected spy
By LUKE BROADWATER and MAGGIE HABERMAN
President Donald Trump said earlier this week that Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, told him that he was not aware that a Chinese businessperson with whom he was having a romantic relationship was an intelligence operative for Beijing.
“I asked him that question: ‘Did you have any idea that she was a spy?’” Trump told reporters at the White House. “He said, ‘I had no idea that she was a spy,’ and I really believe him.’”
Trump’s comments followed a series of reports by The New York Times revealing that U.S. officials had concluded that the woman, who goes by Alice Huang, had been recruited by China’s main spy agency, and that Trump and other top officials had been warned about the relationship.
The Times reported last month that Trump had been briefed roughly a year ago about electronic surveillance showing that Huang was believed by the U.S. intelligence community to be an operative for China’s government. The president chose not to do anything with the information at the time.
Marco Rubio, the national security adviser and secretary of state, oversaw the drafting of a highly classified memo in the spring, warning top Trump administration officials about Huang and intelligence assessments that she was a spy for China’s Ministry of State Security, the Times reported Friday.
On Monday, Trump said that he did not recall receiving the information.
Asked whether he knew about the “alleged ties with the Chinese spy” in May when the president invited Jensen Huang aboard Air Force One on a trip to China, the president said, “No, I didn’t hear about it then.”
When pressed about whether he had received a briefing on the issue about a year ago, Trump demurred.
“I’d have to check,” he said in response to a question about when he first learned of the matter. “I’d certainly check with the intelligence people. They could have been mentioned. Certainly, it didn’t make much of an impact on me.”
Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang, which he publicly acknowledged Sunday, has rattled Nvidia, the powerhouse chipmaker that is driving the data center boom powering the U.S. economy
The company said Sunday that it was opening an investigation into Jensen Huang, after he told the board about his relationship with Alice Huang. (Jensen Huang and Alice Huang are not related.)
“I was unfaithful to my wife,” Jensen Huang said in a message to the company. “My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.”
The president and Huang have become close allies in Trump’s second term. Nvidia has donated at least $20 million to a fund for Trump’s prized White House ballroom project. And Huang has persuaded the president to roll back a ban on chip sales to China.
Speaking to reporters Monday, the president said he was mostly concerned with how Huang was holding up amid the scandal.
“I did speak to him today just to see if he’s feeling all right,” Trump said, adding, “I believe he’s suffering greatly. I read his statement, and I believe he’s suffering greatly. More so because of his family, his wife who he loves, and his family, but he is definitely suffering.”
The president said the FBI had been investigating a matter related to Huang, but he added that he believed the businessperson did nothing wrong.
Trump appeared to be referring to the Justice Department taking over an investigation by the Commerce Department into whether Megaspeed, the company where Alice Huang was a top executive and which bought $2 billion of Nvidia’s products, was illegally funneling advanced chips into China.
“I know the FBI is looking into it in terms of something else, and I think that he’ll be in good shape,” Trump said.
Next week, Trump plans to travel to Shenzhen, China, for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, where he expects to meet with President Xi Jinping of China.
But Trump said he didn’t plan to bring up the matter of the suspected Chinese spy.
“I’m sure President Xi will ask me about it,” Trump said. “I just know Jensen very well. I just think he’s a very honorable man. I mean, he’s a great. He built a great company, American company, and I think he’s a very honorable guy. And I feel very confident that he’ll be in good shape.”
