Trump says FBI probing Huang over alleged spy affair
Donald Trump said on Monday that the FBI, the US federal police and intelligence agency, is investigating an affair between Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang and an alleged Chinese spy.
Trump said he had spoken with Huang on Monday after reports that the US believed Huang had been targeted in a Chinese espionage campaign, meaning a long-running effort to gather secrets through spying. Trump said he asked Huang whether he had any idea the woman was a spy. Huang replied that he had no idea, and Trump said he believed the denial.
Huang has acknowledged the affair. In a message to Nvidia employees, he said he had been unfaithful to his wife and that he takes "full responsibility" for his actions, according to Reuters. CNN also reported that he admitted an extramarital affair with the woman alleged to have been working as a spy.
The woman is named in company materials as Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le. Nvidia has commissioned an independent investigation into the affair involving her. The company's board of directors is also opening its own investigation into reports that Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort, according to the Associated Press.
Nvidia has said it has no reason to believe its secrets or national security were compromised.
China's foreign ministry has rejected the allegations that Huang was targeted. It described them as entirely groundless and speculative, and said they were intended to smear and malign China.
