House GOP Threatens Jensen Huang With Subpoena Over Alleged Chinese Spy Affair; Rubio Warned Trump
Update (1450ET): House Foreign Affairs Chairman Brian Mast (R-FL) is prepared to subpoena Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang if he doesn't respond by Wednesday to a request from House Republicans for a closed-door briefing on his relationship with an alleged Chinese spy, Mast told ABC News on Tuesday.
As we previously noted, Mast, Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR), who chair the Foreign Affairs, China Select and Intelligence committees, asked Huang last week to brief all three panels on Nov. 18 - the day after Nvidia reports third-quarter earnings - and gave him until Nov. 11 to accept or propose another date.
Separately, the New York Times reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed Trump on the intelligence about Huang aboard Air Force One in May, shortly before Huang joined the presidential trip to Beijing. That contradicts what Trump told reporters Monday when asked whether he knew about the relationship at the time: "No, I didn't hear about it then." The White House disputed the Times report on background without elaborating.
Trump, who returns to China next week, said Monday that Huang won't be making that trip.
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President Trump said Monday that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told him he had no idea the woman he had a relationship with was a Chinese spy, and that Huang should not worry about the FBI. "I asked him that question: 'Did you have any idea that she was a spy?'" Trump told reporters at a surprise White House briefing. "He said, 'I had no idea that she was a spy.' And I really believe him."
"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.
He added that he spoke to Huang Monday "just to see if he's feeling alright" and called him "an honorable man."
The FBI's work does not appear to be a probe of Huang's affair. The Justice Department is running a criminal investigation into Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company suspected of smuggling Nvidia AI chips into China, led by its National Security Division with the FBI and the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, a source told NBC News. Alice Huang, a former Megaspeed executive, is believed by U.S. intelligence officials to be a Chinese spy; she is not related to Jensen Huang. The Justice Department declined to comment.
All The Way To The Top?
According to Bloomberg, Nvidia's general counsel intervened in a US government probe of smuggling by Megaspeed - raising questions over whether the Trump administration was involved in the alleged spy's detention. As we reported, the feds' Megaspeed probe was derailed after Nvidia came knocking.
In late summer 2025, Nvidia's Tim Teter called Commerce Under Secretary Jeffrey Kessler, who oversees US chip export curbs, to ask about the Megaspeed investigation, according to people familiar with the matter.
Specifically, Teter wanted to know whether Kessler's Bureau of Industry and Security was involved in the Singapore government's recent detention of Alice Huang, a Megaspeed executive, according to the people.
Singapore police had brought Alice in for questioning and restricted her from leaving the country. BIS was not involved in that action, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity owing to the sensitivity of the matter.
It's unclear whether Teter made any specific requests of Kessler related to his agency's investigation into Megaspeed, which was separate from Singapore's. But in the weeks that followed, BIS staff were muzzled in their ability to look into the company, including a mandate that they route all requests of Nvidia through Kessler or seek his approval for outreach - a highly unusual step that remains unique to the chipmaker, the people said. -Bloomberg
The FBI's probe comes amid a broader "Singapore washing" trend in which Chinese companies set up shop in Singapore to bypass US restrictions and provide access to global markets and technology - a practice which has spread across multiple industries, including technology, biotechnology, and critical minerals, the Epoch Times notes.
"The central questions are whether intellectual property or sensitive information was compromised, whether customer relationships or export approvals are affected, and whether there is a material change in leadership," Ken Mahoney, president and CEO of Mahoney Asset Management, told the outlet.
The White House implemented strict export controls on the company's most advanced AI chips to Beijing, forcing Nvidia to produce China-specific chips to comply with U.S. regulations.
Chinese AI companies have increasingly turned to domestic alternatives, including chips developed by Huawei and other local firms.
Huang has been highly critical of U.S. export controls, calling them a "failure." -Epoch Times
"Four years ago, Nvidia had 95 percent market share in China. Today, it is only 50 percent," Huang said last year at a press conference in Taipei. "The rest is Chinese technology. They have a lot of local technology they would use if they didn't have Nvidia."
As we've noted, China is adapting with locally developed chips.
Sex Scandal PR Firm
According to Wired, Huang hired a crisis management firm known for handling sex scandals a year before the Chinese spy scandal erupted. The firm, Heller, has been handling Huang's 'behind-the-scenes communication' for over a year, according to two sources.
Heller's public relations consultants were initially believed to be hired for matters related to Huang's personal life, including his family's philanthropic endeavors, according to people familiar with the arrangement. The firm frequently communicated with Huang and his daughter Madison, a product marketing director at Nvidia who has become an increasingly prominent figure within the company, sources tell WIRED. It's not clear whether Heller's early work with the Huang family involved Huang's affair.
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Before founding her firm, Risa Heller worked for Jane Harman, then a Democratic congresswoman from California, and later served as Democratic senator Chuck Schumer's New York City press secretary. Rizzo, Nvidia's head of public policy communications, also previously worked for Schumer, serving as his deputy communications director.
And what's this?
Nvidia's board has opened an independent investigation after reports that Huang "has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort." In a note to staff, Huang wrote: "I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry."
Here's what Nvidia's Jensen Huang sent to staff, admitting to affair:
"To my colleagues at NVIDIA,
I owe my family and all of you an apology.
I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.
Throughout my...— Hadas Gold (@Hadas_Gold) November 8, 2026
Nvidia shares closed down 4.2% Monday, the worst performer in both the Dow and the Nasdaq while the broader market held up.
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun called the allegations "unsubstantiated. It is nothing but smears against China." On Capitol Hill, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, expected to become Speaker, asked for "a full briefing," and Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Jim Banks issued a joint statement calling on Congress to "take decisive action" on oversight of AI-linked companies.
Meanwhile, lawmakers are all over this - and have requested a closed-door briefing over Nvidia's security protocols as well as Huang's interactions with the alleged spy.
"We are writing to request that you appear before our committees for a joint, closed-door briefing on Nvidia's security protocols against foreign adversary espionage and your interactions with a publicly reported People's Republic of China (PRC) intelligence asset," reads the chairmen's letter.
"We need to get to the bottom of what was exchanged with this Chinese intelligence agent," Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) told the Epoch Times.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) told the outlet that to see the CEO of "one of the most important, cutting-edge AI companies clearly in a relationship" with an alleged Chinese agent raises significant national security risks.
Needless to say, Jensen just handed Democrats a box of ammunition following the blue wave.