Trump says FBI is examining Nvidia CEO's affair with woman US intelligence reportedly tied to Beijing

President Donald Trump said the FBI is looking into an extramarital affair between Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang and a woman US intelligence reportedly believes was gathering information for China, BBC News reported. The FBI declined to comment to the BBC.

Trump told reporters he spoke with Huang by phone on Monday and asked whether he knew the woman was a spy. According to the BBC, Trump recounted Huang's answer: "I had no idea she was a spy," and said he believed him. Trump gave no details on when any FBI inquiry began.

Huang acknowledged the affair on Sunday, apologizing in a message to employees for being unfaithful to his wife and for hurting his family, PBS NewsHour reported, citing the Associated Press. The same day, Nvidia's board launched an independent investigation into reports that Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort. The board said it had no reason to believe national security or company secrets were compromised, and that Huang would stay on as CEO and cooperate fully.

Neither Huang nor Nvidia named the woman. The New York Times identified her as a Chinese citizen and former executive of Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data center company that has done business with Nvidia, according to both outlets. She has not been charged with a crime. The Times reported that Megaspeed bought more than $4.8 billion in Nvidia chips over two years; PBS noted the company had faced claims of illicitly shipping Nvidia chips into China, which it denied. The BBC said the Times also reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio circulated a memo this spring warning about the relationship.

China rejected the allegations. "The so-called Chinese spy allegation is unsubstantiated. It is nothing but smears against China," foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Monday, PBS reported.

Nvidia shares fell more than 4% on Monday, erasing roughly $250 billion in value, according to the BBC, which described Nvidia as the world's second most valuable company. The BBC also reported that a proposed class action lawsuit filed in California accuses Huang and Nvidia of defrauding shareholders by concealing the relationship. Several congressional committees have asked Huang to attend a closed-door briefing next week, though it is unclear whether he will.

Trump, who has a close relationship with Huang, called him honorable and said he remained open to bringing him on an Asia trip next week, PBS reported. The episode comes amid debate over chip exports to China; the administration allowed sales of Nvidia's H200 chips under conditions in January. Analysts at Raymond James wrote that the reports could strengthen congressional support for tighter export restrictions, according to PBS.

Compiled by True News from reporting by PBS NewsHour and BBC News. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/945