The White House is facing mounting scrutiny over its handling of the Nvidia scandal, with new reporting indicating President Donald Trump was “warned” about CEO Jensen Huang’s relationship with a suspected Chinese spy months ago.
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Trump → face → spy
Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed Trump on the relationship aboard Air Force One in May, shortly before Huang joined the president’s trip to China, The New York Times reported.
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Times → brief → China
The controversy centers on Huang’s romantic relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive at Megaspeed whom U.S. officials reportedly identified as a Chinese intelligence asset.
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officials → center → asset
After initially describing their dealings as strictly professional, the Nvidia chief acknowledged the romance Sunday, writing in a statement he’d been “unfaithful” to his wife and that he was “deeply sorry.”
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he → describe → wife
He added that the company — which saw its stock price plunge Monday — is launching an independent investigation.
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which → add → investigation
Separately, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confronted Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over why Megaspeed — an Nvidia customer — had not been subject to restrictions, according to Axios.
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Megaspeed → confront → Axios
Lutnick had also been sent a “classified memo” warning about the spy allegations.
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Lutnick → send → allegations
The revelations have led to questions about Nvidia’s influence in Washington and the administration’s handling of the artificial intelligence race with China.
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revelations → lead → China
The tech giant, valued at about $4.2 trillion, designs advanced chips used to power AI systems.
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giant → value → systems
In recent days, Trump has publicly defended the CEO of Nvidia, who has regularly visited the White House.
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who → defend → House
The president called him “honorable” and said he believes he did not know about the spy allegations.
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he → call → allegations
Beijing has said claims about Chinese spies are “entirely groundless” and “intended to smear and malign China.”
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claims → say → China
The Independent has contacted the White House and Nvidia, headquartered in California, for comment.
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Independent → contact → comment
In the lead-up to Trump’s state visit to China, Rubio helped draft a memo about Huang, the Times reported.
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Times → help → Huang
The CEO was not initially among the tech executives scheduled to accompany the president to Beijing.
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CEO → schedule → Beijing
But Trump invited him at the last minute, and Huang joined the presidential entourage aboard Air Force One in Alaska.
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Huang → invite → Alaska
Rubio, who also serves as national security adviser, “briefed the president on the issue” after learning that Huang would be traveling with Trump, an unnamed U.S. official told the outlet.
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official → serve → outlet
Rubio said U.S. officials had obtained sensitive information indicating that Huang was in a relationship with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy.
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Huang → say → woman
The 80-year-old president was “not particularly moved by what he heard,” the Times reported.
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Times → move → what
Upon landing in China, Huang — who was born in Taiwan and moved to the U.S. as a child — attended the state banquet in Beijing and participated in business discussions as a member of the U.S. delegation, alongside fellow executives Elon Musk and Tim Cook.
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who → land → executives
Huang has said he wants Nvidia to be able to sell AI chips in China.
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Nvidia → say → China
At a press conference on Monday, Trump denied he had been aware of these spy allegations at the time of the China trip.
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he → deny → trip
“No, I didn’t hear about it then,” he told reporters.
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he → hear → reporters
“But a lot of people have heard about it.
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lot → hear → it
And Jensen totally denies that…
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Jensen → deny → that
He said, ‘I had no idea that she was a spy.’
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she → say → idea
And I really believe him.”
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I → believe → him
Alice Huang, formerly a TV reporter in China, became a director at Megaspeed in 2023, The Associated Press reported.
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Press → become → 2023
It’s not clear when the apparent affair started and when it might have ended.
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it → ’ → ?
Lutnick had also been warned about the spy allegations, having been sent the memo Rubio had helped draft, Axios reported.
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Axios → warn → memo
As commerce secretary, Lutnick manages the agency responsible for ensuring U.S. adversaries do not obtain sensitive American technology.
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adversaries → manage → technology
The outlet also reported that, during a meeting in the Situation Room on Thursday, Bessent confronted Lutnick, asking him why Megaspeed was not added to the Entity List.
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Megaspeed → report → List
The list, maintained by the Commerce Department, imposes restrictions on transactions involving organizations considered a national security concern.
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list → maintain → organizations
Lutnick reportedly responded that he would “look into it.”
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he → respond → it
The secretary, sources said, had spent months “undoing” efforts by Trump administration officials to combat Megaspeed.
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sources → say → Megaspeed
The Singapore-based company has been accused of unlawfully sending American chips to China.
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company → base → China
The developments come as AI plays an increasingly central role in the American economy, with companies racing to advance the technology and expand its use across industries.
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companies → come → industries
Most Americans believe it is important for the U.S. to lead the world in the development of AI, according to a July Pew Research Center survey.
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U.S. → believe → survey
But more Americans than not believe that China is currently in the lead.
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China → believe → lead
At their summit in May, both Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping identified AI as an area of cooperation, but no major breakthroughs emerged.
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breakthroughs → identify → cooperation
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
