House Republican leaders warned Wednesday that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang could face a subpoena if he fails to respond to their request for a closed-door briefing. Lawmakers want to question Huang about Nvidia's safeguards against foreign espionage and his interactions with a businesswoman alleged to have worked for Chinese intelligence.
Three House committee chairs asked Huang to appear on Nov. 18 and gave him until Wednesday to accept or propose another date. Rep. John Moolenaar, who chairs the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, told Fox Business that subpoenas were likely if Huang failed to respond. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Brian Mast said his committee was preparing a subpoena in case Huang did not reply.
Huang remains CEO while Nvidia's independent directors investigate whether he was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. On Tuesday, the directors announced that they had hired Joon H. Kim, a former acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, and his law firm, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. The board said Sunday that it had no reason to believe U.S. national security or Nvidia's secrets had been compromised. Reuters reported that the FBI is conducting a separate inquiry.
In an email to employees on Sunday, Huang acknowledged that he had been unfaithful to his wife, apologized to his family and colleagues, and pledged to cooperate with the board's investigation. He did not identify the other person. The New York Times identified her as Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed who is unrelated to the Nvidia CEO. Reuters said it could not independently verify the allegation that she worked for Chinese intelligence. China's Foreign Ministry rejected the allegation.
The case has also drawn scrutiny to Nvidia's chip sales. The Information reported Tuesday that the alleged relationship helped facilitate at least $7.5 billion in Nvidia chip shipments to Chinese companies. Separately, a proposed class-action lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in San Jose alleges that Nvidia and Huang misled investors by concealing the reported relationship.
