Washington, DC [US], November 11 (ANI): A confidential alarm has been sounded at the highest levels of government. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick received a highly classified memo issuing a stark warning regarding Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang and his association with Alice Huang, an individual suspected of operating as a Chinese intelligence asset, according to Axios.
Building on these disclosures, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed President Donald Trump on intelligence indicating that the Nvidia chief executive was involved in an association with an operative suspected of gathering intelligence for Beijing while both officials travelled aboard Air Force One towards China in May, a source familiar with the matter revealed to CNN.
President Trump publicly stated on Monday that he was unaware of the allegations during that period. During an impromptu White House press conference, he maintained that he had first learnt of the situation "not too long ago" and noted that federal investigators were reviewing the circumstances.
However, the source indicated to CNN that the intelligence was discussed before Huang joined the presidential party during an Alaskan layover, where the tech leader boarded the aircraft alongside senior aides and business executives for the final leg of the flight to Beijing.
While a White House representative directed inquiries to the president's public remarks and dismissed the reporting, stating that "these sources have no idea what they're talking about", The New York Times initially disclosed that the president became aware of the intelligence during the overseas mission.
The unfolding controversy has focused intense attention on the prominent advisory role Huang maintained regarding domestic artificial intelligence regulations and trade frameworks with Beijing, even as federal counterintelligence agencies monitored the interactions between the executive and Alice Huang, a senior representative at a Singapore-domiciled technology firm who is unrelated to the Nvidia chief executive.
Consequently, senior administration officials convened earlier on Monday with key members of the congressional intelligence oversight panel, known as the Gang of Eight, to review the classified assessments concerning the executive's association, as reported by CNN.
While the private briefing was originally structured to examine ongoing developments in the Middle East, lawmakers were informed of warnings issued to congressional leaders by the Federal Bureau of Investigation nearly a year earlier regarding potential intelligence risks.
Reacting to the developments, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun dismissed the allegations regarding information gathering as "purely groundless speculation and an attempt to smear and malign China".
In response to the widening fallout, incoming congressional leaders have signalled extensive inquiries into the matter following the legislative transition in January, with lawmakers emphasising the critical national security implications surrounding advanced semiconductor exports and regulatory decision-making processes. (ANI)
US Commerce Secretary "sent classified memo" on Nvidia CEO's affair: Report
