Ex-Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang summoned to testify before Congress about affair with alleged Chinese spy
Former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has been summoned to testify next month before a Senate committee about his alleged affair with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy.
Huang abruptly quit on Thursday as head of one of the world's most valuable companies after revelations of alleged extramarital affairs, in a stunning fall from grace that sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who is under scrutiny over exports of sensitive Nvidia AI chips to China, has also been summoned to appear before the Senate Banking Committee in December.
Nvidia has lost $550bn (Β£415bn) in stock market value in just five days as the scandal dominated headlines.
Senator Tim Scott sent letters on Thursday to Huang and Lutnick requesting their testimony in front of the Senate Banking Committee.
"Recent reports raise serious concerns about our national security and the protection of sensitive US technology," the South Carolina Republican posted on X.
"The American people deserve answers," he added.
Scott asked Huang to appear voluntarily on 3 December, but also warned the panel could issue a subpoena to compel his testimony.
Three House of Representatives committees - on intelligence and foreign affairs and a panel on China - have also sent a letter to Huang summoning him for a closed-door interview on 1 December.
Lutnick is under scrutiny because unnamed officials in President Donald Trump's administration have been briefing US media that the commerce secretary stalled efforts to tighten export restrictions on advanced AI chips to China.
A commerce department spokesperson told US media that Lutnick had "proactively" agreed to appear before the Senate Banking Committee.
Huang, who has been Nvidia's public face since 1993, admitted on Sunday to having been "unfaithful" to his wife after reports he had an affair with a suspected Chinese spy, Alice Huang.
On Wednesday, he was reported to have had a second relationship, this time with an Nvidia executive.
Alice Huang (no relation) worked as an executive at the Singaporean firm Megaspeed. She has been suspected of being an intelligence asset for China, according to the New York Times. China has rejected that allegation as a smear.
Source : bbc.com
