Jensen Huang agrees to closed-door congressional testimony after subpoena threat

Jensen Huang agreed to testify before Congress after lawmakers threatened to use subpoena power. The closed-door session will involve the House Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and China committees before Thanksgiving.

Republican leaders are pursuing the briefing on national-security grounds, while Brian Mast has cited export-control disagreements and serious questions for Huang. Brian Mast said Jensen Huang indicated he is willing to appear. Mast said: “I don’t want to see anything hurt in NVIDIA, but he has some very serious questions to answer.”

John Moolenaar, chair of the House Select Committee on China, said lawmakers were discussing a date with Huang and want him to appear as soon as possible to establish the facts. He said Huang’s resignation changes the dynamic. Senate Majority Leader John Thune expects Senate oversight interest and said Huang testimony makes sense because of national-security interests.

Kevin Cramer said on CNBC that he would support subpoenaing Huang, and a spokesperson said he still would. Chuck Schumer said Congress must demand answers from Huang and other Nvidia officials about possibly endangering U.S. national security. Schumer said the Trump administration must explain what it did after learning of Huang’s relationship with a suspected Chinese intelligence asset.

Nvidia announced on Thursday that Jensen Huang had stepped down. Nvidia said the departure followed a scandal involving a former Megaspeed executive suspected of being a Chinese spy. Colette Kress, Nvidia’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, is serving as interim CEO while the company seeks a permanent successor.

President Trump, described as a friend of Huang, downplayed the scandal on Thursday, praised Huang’s performance, and proposed Tim Cook of Apple as the only replacement. Trump said: “there is only one man to take his place – TIM COOK of Apple”. President Trump said the FBI is investigating the situation as well.

Engadget reported that over the weekend, Nvidia investigated Huang over an admitted affair with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy. The outlet said reports emerged on Wednesday that Huang had another affair with Kimberly Powell, an Nvidia executive who reported to him, and the board met that day about his future.

Engadget reported that the Justice Department is investigating Alice Huang, the alleged spy, over whether entities associated with her tried to smuggle Super Micro Computer products to China. The outlet said Singapore opened an investigation into Alice Huang, Megaspeed and associated individuals last year.

CBS News reported that Megaspeed International is under investigation in the United States and Singapore for allegedly smuggling chips into China despite export restrictions. Megaspeed International said it would cooperate with the investigation. Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs said on Thursday that police barred Alice Huang from re-entering after finding she knowingly gave inaccurate information to downplay her Megaspeed role. The ministry said evidence was insufficient to establish Huang committed offenses over those inaccurate declarations, while the investigation into Megaspeed and six other individuals continues.