The Chinese spy scandal that cost Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang his job as CEO has now reached the White House as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was facing questions about what role he may have played in the scandal.
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he → cost → scandal
It was also revealed Thursday that Huang had an affair with a second staffer amid revelations that President Donald Trump urged the tech tycoon not to resign.
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Trump → reveal → tycoon
Reuters reported that Huang had an intimate relationship with another woman who worked for Nvidia.
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who → report → Nvidia
The outlet chose not to name the woman.
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outlet → choose → woman
Huang has already admitted to having an affair with Nvidia executive Kimberly Powell, 48, in addition to Alice Huang, a Chinese entrepreneur who was under investigation for allegedly passing information to Beijing.
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who → admit → Beijing
Mr Huang, 63, had been touted by the Trump administration as a leader in artificial intelligence as he maintained a close relationship with Lutnick.
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he → tout → Lutnick
After Huang confessed to having an affair with Alice Huang, Trump called him an 'honorable guy' who 'probably has an excuse for it.'
Trump also called the now-ousted chief on Tuesday and urged him to keep fighting for his job, two people briefed on the conversation told The New York Times.
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people → confess → Times
When Nvidia later announced on Thursday that Huang had resigned, the president called him a 'legend' in a post on his Truth Social page as he suggested former Apple CEO Tim Cook should take his place.
But as Trump's advisors discussed how to deal with mounting internal criticism of the administration's handling of the scandal following Huang's resignation on Thursday, some pointed the finger at Lutnick, according to the Wall Street Journal.
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some → announce → Journal
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is facing questions about what role he may have played in the Chinese spy scandal that cost Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang his job
Huang, 63, had been touted by the Trump administration as a leader in artificial intelligence.
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Huang → face → intelligence
He is pictured speaking alongside Trump about investing in America in April 2025
Ms
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He → picture → April
Huang reportedly said she had gotten Mr Huang's approval before Megaspeed started its shipping operations
Critics claim Lutnick has hindered the Trump administration's efforts to crack down on the illicit shipment of US-made AI chips to southeast Asia, creating an opportunity for executives like Alice Huang to do business with China.
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executives → say → China
Some of the president's political allies have even suggested to Trump and his senior advisers that Lutnick has been giving cover to Nvidia and Huang through what they see as a lack of action on export controls, people familiar with the matter told the Journal.
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people → suggest → Journal
They note that the Commerce Department had been investigating Ms Huang's company, Megaspeed International, for violating chip-control rules since 2024 – when she was seen in multiple photos cozying up to the then-Nvidia boss – but stopped short of blacklisting the company, to the frustration of officials at the State Department and the National Security Council.
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she → note → Department
When others in the Commerce Department or other agencies would then push for actions targeting Megaspeed or other companies linked to China, Lutnick would often stall or push back – arguing that Beijing would get angry and scuttle trade talks or otherwise hurt the US economy, the people familiar with the discussions told the Journal.
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people → push → Journal
The concerns have spread to Congress, where members on both sides of the aisle are preparing to investigate his ties to Mr Huang and his approach to chip policy.
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members → spread → policy
Lutnick has since agreed to appear before the Senate Banking Committee to address their questions, Politico reports.
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Politico → agree → questions
In a letter Senate Banking Chairman Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, sent Lutnick on Thursday night, he cited 'recent public reports about Nvidia and the Department of Commerce's role that raises national security concerns.
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that → send → concerns
'
'Given the Department of Commerce's central role in issuing and enforcing export control regulations, your testimony before the Committee will be essential to our oversight of these efforts,' Scott said.
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Scott → give → efforts
Republican Senator Tim Scott sent a letter to Lutnick on Thursday night asking him to appear at a Senate Banking Committee hearing
Lutnick and Huang had maintained a close relationship, with one source claiming the commerce secretary met with the AI chief quarterly
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secretary → send → chief
He added that 'recent developments underscore the significant national security and economic interests at stake and the need for timely, substantive engagement with Congress.'
Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, and Representative Richard Neal, a Democrat from Massachusetts, have also co-authored a letter to Lutnick announcing their investigation into the Trump administration's dealings with Nvidia.
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developments → add → Nvidia
They asked the Commerce Secretary to preserve all relevant records for their probe.
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They → ask → probe
Others have also hit out at Lutnick, with Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, blaming the Commerce Secretary for allowing Huang to get close to Trump despite his ties to a suspected spy.
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Huang → hit → spy
'Shame on Lutnick for allowing that exposure to happen for the president,' he said.
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he → allow → president
Separately, Senator Jim Banks, a Republican from Indiana, told Fox News it appeared Lutnick had been 'defying President Trump's orders' by declining to impose chip export restrictions.
But a commerce department official denied to the Journal that Lutnick and Huang had any special relationship beyond the Commerce Secretary wanting to maintain a good rapport with one of the most successful companies in the US – despite one person familiar with his schedule saying Lutnick and Huang would meet almost quarterly.
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Lutnick → tell → schedule
For now, the Trump administration is continuing to support Lutnick, with a spokesperson for the White House telling the Journal Trump 'maintains complete confidence in the secretary and his ability to carry out the position as the most transformative Commerce Secretary in modern history.'
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Trump → continue → history
Yet Lutnick has faced previous tension with other members of the Trump administration over the years.
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Lutnick → face → years
Some in the Trump administration have pointed the blame for the potential national security scandal at Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, noting that the department has not sanctioned Ms Huang or her former company, Megaspeed International
Some of the president's senior advisers have previously blamed Lutnick for the chaotic rollout of tariffs last year and for helping Mr Huang and other tech executives get access to the president.
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Huang → point → president
Some have also accused him of allowing Cantor Fitzgerald, the financial services firm he previously ran before handing it over to his sons, to benefit from some of the policies that the Commerce Department oversees.
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Department → accuse → that
The firm, though, has denied receiving preferential treatment.
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firm → deny → treatment
Still, others pointed the blame for the potential national security scandal at Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, noting that the department has not sanctioned Ms Huang or her former company, Megaspeed International.
Meanwhile, sources told the Journal, the Commerce Department is rushing to show progress on restricting chip exports by advancing a new rule to limit shipments to southeast Asia.
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Department → point → Asia
Under the new Bureau of Industry and Security rule being finalized, seven countries would be added to a group currently subject to export restrictions and licensing agreements – including Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore, countries that have hosted data centers accessed remotely by Chinese customers.
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that → finalize → customers
At the same time, the Department of Justice is leading multiple probes into Ms Huang.
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Department → lead → Huang
And despite announcing his resignation as CEO on Thursday, Mr Huang is facing his own government inquiries into his dealings with the alleged Chinese spy, with Senator Scott threatening the former Nvidia boss if he does not appear at a separate Banking Committee hearing.
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he → announce → hearing
Officials in the United States have claimed that Ms Huang was working for Beijing's Ministry of State Security as part of an effort to learn about American-made AI chips and possibly persuade Nvidia to make its most sophisticated semiconductors available in China
Photos show her cuddled up next to the 63-year-old tech CEO, raising wine glasses in a toast and sitting next to one another smiling
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her → claim → one
He argued that reports about his relationship with the alleged Chinese spy 'raise significant national security concerns.'
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reports → argue → concerns
Members of the House of Representatives have also sought comment from Mr Huang, with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, a Republican from Florida, saying on Thursday that the former CEO 'agreed to come' in for a briefing that will likely be 'under oath, transcribed [and] video recorded, though negotiations about the details are ongoing.
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negotiations → seek → details
Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, of New York, said Mr Huang's resignation was not enough to allay concerns about the potential threat.
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resignation → say → threat
'It was the right thing to do,' he said at a news conference earlier Thursday.
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he → do → conference
'Now, we have to get to the bottom of whether America's national security has been compromised.
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security → have → bottom
Jeffries then said Representatives Jim Himes, a Democrat from Connecticut, who is set to serve as the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, and Greg Meeks, a Democrat from New York who is expected to lead the Foreign Affairs panel, will take the lead for House Democrats as they dig into the national security implications of Mr Huang's affair.
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they → say → affair
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
