Aditya DidwaniyaAttorney General Todd Blanche said the department has reached no conclusion on whether businesswoman Alice Huang acted as a Chinese spy, despite ongoing scrutiny of her ties to former Nvidia chief Jensen Huang.
The US Justice Department has not concluded that businesswoman Alice Huang was a Chinese spy, Attorney General Todd Blanche said.
“You are proceeding based on the assumption that the Justice Department has established that she is in fact a spy. That’s not the case. No one has said that. I certainly haven’t said that,” Blanche told reporters when asked when the department had learned that Huang was allegedly a “Chinese agent.”
He said the department is investigating and looking into the matter, but that neither the department nor he personally has reached any conclusions about who Huang is.
On Thursday, graphics chip maker Nvidia announced that its founder, Jensen Huang, was stepping down as president and CEO amid a scandal over his close relationship with Alice Huang, who is alleged to have served as a source of information for Chinese government bodies.
Earlier, The New York Times reported that Alice Huang had been in a close relationship with the former Nvidia chief while allegedly acting as a source for Chinese government structures. Jensen Huang admitted to the extramarital affair, and the company announced it was launching an independent investigation. China’s Foreign Ministry called the “Chinese espionage” allegations surrounding the Nvidia affair baseless.
On Wednesday, The New York Times, citing former company employees, reported that Huang had another secret relationship, this time with a subordinate, the company’s health care vice president, Kimberly Powell. Reuters reported on Thursday that the former Nvidia chief had also been involved in an intimate relationship with another company employee.
Pratik Agrawal
Mayur Mohta
Akshay Didwaniya
