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NewsTrack examines the escalating controversy surrounding NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang amid allegations involving suspected Chinese operative Alice Huang.
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00:01Good evening, you're watching NewsTrack with me, Maria Shakil.
00:04A classified memo, a suspected Chinese spy, billions of dollars in NVIDIA chips and a U.S. Commerce Secretary under
00:13scrutiny.
00:14The NVIDIA controversy is getting bigger by the day.
00:17U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly received a classified warning about CEO Jensen Huang's alleged links with Alice Huang,
00:26who was suspected by U.S. intelligence of working for China.
00:31At the same time, a Reuters investigation has revealed how a U.S. blacklisted Chinese university managed to buy NVIDIA's
00:39powerful H200 chips through a domestic supplier.
00:44So how did restricted American technology reach China?
00:48What did Lutnick know about the alleged security risks?
00:54And did the Trump administration act on the warning?
00:58I'll be asking all these questions to the guests who will be joining me shortly.
01:01But first up, here's a report.
01:08The empire built by Jensen Huang that powers the artificial intelligence revolution is under scrutiny.
01:18His credibility is under question.
01:21The billionaire boss of NVIDIA finds himself at the center of a possible Chinese honey trap scandal.
01:29The alleged spying operation, an admitted extramarital affair and a formal boardroom investigation have raised a question that extends far
01:38beyond one man's private life.
01:41Could the secrets of America's AI powerhouse have been at risk?
01:46Recent reports suggest that could pretty much be the case.
01:53An exclusive report by Reuters claims that a Chinese university with deep ties to the People's Liberation Army of China
02:00bought NVIDIA's powerful H200 AI chips in October.
02:05Northwestern Polytechnical University of China bought two H200 chips for 874,700 yuan or $123,000.
02:15Its website lists this procurement against 21st October.
02:22Northwestern is a member of the Seven Sons of National Defense, a group of Chinese universities under U.S. sanctions
02:29and with a history of conducting defense-related research for Beijing.
02:37Another report by the information alleged that his relationship with Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang suspected of spying for Beijing helped
02:47facilitate the shipment of at least $7.5 billion worth of the company's chips to Chinese firms.
02:55NVIDIA boss Jensen Huang's closeness with U.S. President Donald Trump faces renewed scrutiny.
03:04U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was sent a highly classified memo with a clear warning about NVIDIA CEO Jensen
03:12Huang's relationship with suspected Chinese spy Alice Huang.
03:17According to news reports by Axios, the memo which drew on surveillance of Alice Huang and a chip-smuggling investigation
03:23into her company Megaspeed was circulated before President Donald Trump's May visit to China.
03:31While Lutnick oversees the agency that is in charge of keeping sensitive U.S. technology out of the hands of
03:37American adversaries,
03:38U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio oversaw the drafting of the memo detailing Jensen Huang's relationship with Alice Huang.
03:48But U.S. President Donald Trump, who publicly celebrated Jensen Huang's contribution to American technology just a month ago, refuses
03:57to turn his back on the NVIDIA chief.
04:02I think he's an honorable guy. I think he probably has an excuse for it. You have to hear it.
04:08No, you can't do that with people. He was, he's done an amazing job for our country.
04:15The controversy comes at a particularly sensitive moment in the technological contest between Washington and Beijing,
04:22where NVIDIA's most advanced chips are treated not simply as commercial products, but as strategic assets.
04:31American export restrictions have sought to keep some of those chips out of Chinese hands.
04:37And senior Republican lawmakers have now requested a closed-door briefing from Huang on the 18th of November.
04:46Adding to the controversy, a U.S.-based law firm has filed a class-action lawsuit against Huang and NVIDIA,
04:54accusing them of misleading shareholders by failing to disclose information about the CEO's alleged links to the woman suspected of
05:03spying for China.
05:07At the center of the allegations is Alice Huang, a former executive of Singapore-based Megaspeed, a company that purchases
05:14NVIDIA's artificial intelligence chips.
05:19According to a New York Times report late October, Huang had a personal relationship with the businesswoman,
05:25whom American authorities suspected of acting on behalf of Chinese intelligence.
05:30Megaspeed has also faced scrutiny over suspicions that restricted American chips could have been diverted towards China,
05:38although NVIDIA has defended its dealings with the company as legitimate.
05:45China has rejected the espionage reporting, accusing its authors of attempting to discredit China.
06:00For NVIDIA's investors, however, this is no laughing matter.
06:04The company that once crossed the $5 trillion valuation mark has already been facing questions about the sustainability of the
06:13artificial intelligence boom,
06:14and this controversy adds an unwelcome new layer of uncertainty.
06:20Huang is not merely NVIDIA's chief executive.
06:23He is its co-founder, chief salesman, and global public face,
06:28making any question about his future a question about the company's direction.
06:41Joining me on the show tonight, Jyutin Jain, cyber security expert.
06:44Michael Patrick Muldroy is a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, retired CIA, and U.S. Marine President.
06:53He's joining me from Washington, D.C.
06:56Andrew K. Peleong is a China strategist and analyst.
07:00He's joining me from Hong Kong.
07:02Michael, I'm going to begin with you.
07:04Did the Trump administration ignore a national security warning about Jensen Huang?
07:10It's good to be with you, Mauwa, your fellow guest, and your audience.
07:15It's unclear, because this has apparently been going on for over a year.
07:21If the FBI had suspected that this person was an intelligence officer, and obviously they have,
07:28they usually do what's called a defensive briefing.
07:31So they usually take the individual, if they believe they do not know that they're a target of an intelligence
07:38operation,
07:38they usually bring that individual in and inform them.
07:41So the question I would have, and we don't have the answers yet,
07:45is did they believe he was participating in this willingly?
07:50Because it doesn't make sense why they didn't actually inform him as soon as they knew that this was the
07:58case.
07:58The commerce secretary, who received a memo, the supposed memo speaking about the link.
08:05Why didn't he act then?
08:07The question will be asked to Donald Trump's administration, what happened post that memo was received by the commerce secretary.
08:14Did they go ahead with all their dealings with Jensen Huang's NVIDIA, or was that put on hold?
08:24Because his dealing with Jensen Huang is now under scrutiny.
08:31Yes, and I think that's a very fair question.
08:33They ultimately had an obligation, since this individual, we believe, the FBI believes, was being run by the Chinese government
08:44against one of the most significant CEOs in the world.
08:48NVIDIA is not just a company.
08:50If things happen to NVIDIA, it shakes the global economy.
08:54And this individual was not just an associate of the White House, of the president.
08:59He was getting on Air Force One and traveling to Beijing with the president.
09:04So I think the questions that are going to be asked are going to start with,
09:08why didn't you brief Mr. Huang about the threat when you knew it was happening?
09:15Why did you allow him to get on the plane?
09:19Why did you allow him in the White House?
09:22Certainly, if this was the case.
09:24So we'll have to see the answers to these questions.
09:26But this is very significant.
09:28I mean, we are a main adversary of the United States is China.
09:33We're at a race with China to develop the most effective artificial intelligence, super intelligence, eventually.
09:42And so this is really important.
09:44The access to the White House, the lobbying for China, for example,
09:47are all things that I think both parties in Congress are going to ask about.
09:52Andrew QP Leung, how did a Chinese university already blacklisted by the U.S. manage to acquire restricted NVIDIA chips?
10:07Andrew QP Leung, if you heard me.
10:09Well, I didn't know you were addressing me.
10:12Sorry.
10:12Well, I think it has been reported that the so-called higher-end chips, the H200, was mentioned in a
10:23memo to the Commerce Secretary.
10:25Of course, it's in Trump's cabinet.
10:29And then it appeared that even at one time, President Trump was briefed on it.
10:37And then it also has been reported that Trump authorized this sale of the H200 chips and then taking a
10:5025% cut.
10:51Now, this is a report.
10:53Of course, I have no means of verifying that.
10:55But if it's true, then the saga, the NVIDIA saga, is not really reviewing any secrets.
11:08If there is other national security secrets are breached, it remains to be confirmed by the current investigations.
11:22So it's a lot of unknowns at the moment, but be that as it may, there is a lot of
11:26concern across the aisle in the United States.
11:31And of course, the narrative that China somehow only relies on this either stealing or absorbing other countries' intellectual property
11:45to propel its advances in high-end technologies.
11:51But, Andrew Kipi Liang, is China exploiting academic institutions as a backdoor to circumvent American technology restrictions?
12:04Well, I think that all countries are, as far as espionage is concerned, I think no country can come out
12:14and say it's not involved in any kind of espionage.
12:19It is as old as the mountains, but I think as the present case is concerned, a lot of the
12:25criticisms, accusations, and fears remain to be confirmed.
12:30But then the report is quite troubling that, in fact, there was a report made in advance, I think, before
12:39President Trump's recent visit to Beijing, to his commerce secretary.
12:44And then his commerce secretary, in fact, briefed Trump on that, and it was ignored.
12:51And then another report also said that Trump probably authorized the release of the H-200 chips to China and
13:01allowing the White House to take a 25% cut.
13:05But if these reports are true, then it's very, very troubling, because it is corruption in high places, and not
13:13so much as espionage.
13:16But I think as far as espionage is concerned, there is no doubt that there is an affair.
13:20And even Chen Xin Wang came out openly, write an open letter to his wife and family, apologizing for this
13:32affair.
13:33But whether this affair involved the kind of leaking of national security data or information remains to be investigated.
13:45Yes, there are a lot of unknowns. I agree with you, Andrew.
13:49So let me bring in Jitin Jain here.
13:51Jitin, you know, even as the story, the developments come in this story, one thing is being discussed increasingly is,
14:03is there some kind of an AI bubble?
14:05And if that is the case, then could Chinese intelligence have targeted NVIDIA through people rather than technology?
14:13Of course, as my fellow panelists were saying, you know, the question is, obviously, there was an affair.
14:19But whether that affair was by chance or by Chinese design is the question.
14:23Obviously, it was, you know, it is beyond, you know, reasonable assumption that there was a, you know, foreign intelligence,
14:30honey trapping of Jansa Wang.
14:32Now, the question is whether this whole Megaspeed company itself was orchestrated with a long term plan to target NVIDIA
14:39or I believe personally, I think that is not the case here.
14:43The way MSS works is that once they found that somehow, you know, this Megaspeed CEO has got close to
14:49Jansang Wang, she was co-opted in between during that relationship.
14:52And because under Chinese laws, all Chinese nationals are supposed to, you know, work and cooperate with the Chinese intelligence
14:59agency under the national security law, they are bound to cooperate.
15:02So, I think she was turned into an asset in between, you know, midway through this affair.
15:06Now, second, there is a bigger question.
15:09Jitin, you know, you have come to a lot of conclusions and I want to know how.
15:14You know, I mean, it is Jansa Wang who is admitting that I had an affair, he has already apologised.
15:19Now, you know, for, if there was no affair, this lady would have come up today on a national debate,
15:24you know, national channels across the world and say that, you know, come and investigate me, there is nothing to
15:27hide.
15:27She has completely disappeared.
15:29All her records of China, you know, being a CCTV anchor, all her profiles are gone.
15:33It's disappeared on that rate.
15:34Second, you know, if, if there was any, the report says that there was electronic interpretation by CIA.
15:41We do not know where she is.
15:43So, Jitin, is she in custody?
15:46No, she is not in custody.
15:48But the point is, CIA says that there was, there was electronic evidence obtained through electronic interception about she communicating
15:54with MSS.
15:55Now, if there was any sort of suspicions, I am 100% sure that CIA's counterintelligence arm, FBI would have
16:01200% verified that suspicion before making any assumption and briefing the president.
16:06Once the president was brief, if Marco Rubio was drafting a note, if Howard looked, it was won before the
16:12Chinese trip.
16:13Trust me, they have concluded the case investigation would have gone on for a year.
16:17Once they were 200% sure that Jelsa Huang has been honey trapped, they would inform the president.
16:23Now, the question is whether they thought he was a conscious source and cooperating with her or he was an
16:29unconscious asset of China.
16:32I think that is the question where Trump says that, you know, he's an honorable man.
16:35I don't think he would have known of it.
16:36Now, second question is, it is not, it doesn't matter who knew what was going on.
16:41The question is what they do about it.
16:43If four of the, you know, American so-called secretaries were aware of the entire thing, despite of that, no
16:48export control measures were implemented.
16:49It is still sold to China with 25% discounts.
16:53I think this shows that sometimes this honey trap and foreign intelligence targets are not about stealing passwords or technology.
16:59Sometimes they're also about shaping, you know, policies, influencing policies, you know, circumventing this thing.
17:06And trust me, Maria, in this age, it is almost impossible to, you know, protect national security while your most
17:14strategic assets are sitting in the boardrooms of private companies.
17:18So, people can make seven, eight foreign companies across the world.
17:21They can, you know, purchase restricted items on the name for research for universities, you know, NGOs and all those
17:27things, reroute them through seven, eight countries,
17:29and then take them back to universities like this Northwestern University in China, which is also called one of the
17:34seven sons of defense working with, closely with Chinese military intelligence.
17:38So, it is nearly impractical, impossible to actually, you know, carry out export control.
17:44You can restrict, you can delay, you can deny, but it is not.
17:48But Jitin, is this appearing to be a case where Jensen Huang's position is untenable within NVIDIA?
17:55But because he is the founder, he is the chief executive, he is the man running the show, nobody will
18:00question it and maybe he'll continue being the CEO.
18:04I mean, you could call out Jensen Huang for, you know, having the moral lapse of judgment.
18:10But imagine he is not just an ordinary CEO.
18:13He is, NVIDIA sits at the heart of US AI race.
18:17It is NVIDIA which helps America host the complete near monopoly over this H200 chipsets.
18:23Without NVIDIA, there is no US monopoly over GPUs.
18:26So, I think you don't have to treat him as an ordinary CEO of a private company, it is Jensen
18:30Huang, he is irreplaceable.
18:32And he decides.
18:33I agree with you.
18:34I mean, the word that you have used is irreplaceable.
18:37You don't throw baby with a bathtub.
18:39If he has been honey trapped, you can call it a moral lapse of judgment.
18:42But I think he doesn't deserve to be destroyed because if you do that, you will destroy NVIDIA.
18:46No, but then here is, you know, and this is a question to Michael.
18:51Michael, Howard Lutnick, the fact that he is under scrutiny does show that the entire Trump administration was in the
19:00know.
19:00I would not believe that Howard Lutnick acted on his own.
19:04He did not inform his boss, President Trump.
19:10So, I think these are all questions that the Oversight Committee, certainly after January, when the Democrats take the House
19:17and the Senate, are going to focus on multiple committees.
19:21Because this falls within the jurisdiction of several, whether it's related to the intelligence, oversight committees, commerce, etc.
19:30So, I think these are going to be questions they're going to want to know who knew what when and
19:36what was done about it.
19:38Because this is clearly a national security issue that can have major consequences, not only to our national security, but
19:45also the economy of the United States and around the world because this company is so significant.
19:52So, I think these are questions.
19:53I don't know the answers.
19:54I don't know that there's any real reporting out there right now that would indicate that we do know.
20:02But I do believe, as my fellow guest pointed out, this was a thorough investigation.
20:07By the time you're briefing the Secretary of State, the President of the United States, the intelligence services, and the
20:12law enforcement, such as the FBI, is going to have all other ducks in a row.
20:17They're going to know what they believe happened.
20:21And so, we'll have to see if this was a honey trap, which is done often by Russians and Chinese.
20:28And I imagine that's the case, quite frankly, because I can't imagine a financial incentive by this CEO.
20:34So, it was likely something he fell into, and that's what the President has already said.
20:39But when did he find out, and did he disclose it?
20:43That's going to be the other question.
20:44Who disclosed it?
20:45I still would like to know whether there was a defensive briefing, because the normal SOP, if you will, by
20:53the FBI, is once they find out and believe that somebody is unknowingly being run by an intelligence service, especially
20:59a honey trap, they go to them and tell them, so they can cut it off.
21:04Or get them to cooperate, so they can prosecute the person.
21:07Okay. So, as a former CIA official yourself, when you look at this story, it's a developing story.
21:14There are several facets which are still unraveling.
21:16Here is Jitin, who has come to the conclusion that perhaps, you know, that she turned into an asset for
21:24the Chinese during the course of an affair.
21:30I mean, it's possible.
21:31I don't know one way or the other.
21:33She could be an agent that was sent to do just this.
21:37Obviously, one of China's main focus, the MSS's main focus, is economic espionage.
21:43And that would indicate to me that having assets, having officers, if you will, in key CEO positions, in the
21:53area of which you're trying to steal secrets from, would be also part of their trade craft.
22:00So, I don't know if she was converted as a CEO or she was actually replaced there.
22:05I imagine the counterintelligence elements of the CIA and the FBI are looking at that and then also looking at
22:14her connections.
22:15Because sometimes assets like this or officers like this will have connections that will get them focused on after a
22:24revelation like this individual is working for the Chinese government.
22:28You know what's fascinating here is that their first picture, yes, Jitin, I'm coming to you.
22:33First public appearance, in a way, happened in 2024.
22:37We are in the end of 2026.
22:41Are we to believe that she was being watched by the American intelligence for the last two years and now
22:48all these details are appearing in the public domain?
22:50And the fact that her entire digital footprints have been erased totally also means that she is perhaps, you know,
23:00if she is gone completely off the radar, where is she?
23:03And who is now questioning her, trying to get more details of her equation with Jensen Huang and what has
23:15she revealed to the Chinese?
23:18Well, those are all fair questions.
23:20I think if there's an indication that the intelligence service is doing this, it just adds to the fact that
23:26she was either, you know, an intelligence officer or somebody who they coerced into doing this for the intelligence service.
23:36So I think those are all things that are going to be looked at.
23:39How was it done?
23:40Where is this person?
23:42And it's just going to add, I think, to the overall case, if you will.
23:4630 seconds quickly, Jitin.
23:49You know, I think this is not the first story which has broken about her.
23:53A year ago, there were a couple of investigative stories in Western media about this whole conduct of Megaspeed, how
23:58they were turning into one of the biggest customers for NVIDIA.
24:01And nobody knew where these chips were going.
24:04Second, there is an even bigger, you know, risk about to explode, a disaster about to happen.
24:10Trump's first policy announcement as a president was the forming of this great Stargate network of bringing all U.S.
24:16tech and AI companies together.
24:18NVIDIA is at the centrality of it.
24:20All the data centers were supposed to be supplied with NVIDIA chips.
24:23Second, this Golden Loom Missile Shield project, this is, you know, a campaign about Greenland and all.
24:29Where will the chips for those data centers come from?
24:32NVIDIA.
24:33So, if during the pillow talks, this lady was somehow able to access not only the chips, but also some
24:39sort of IP or the embedded, you know, hardware or source code or something.
24:43Then it can impact the entire AI ecosystem.
24:46I agree with you.
24:48I mean, this is far bigger than what it appears right now.
24:50The complete ecosystem at the core, you have poisoned the supply chain itself.
24:54So, whether that happened or not is a different story.
24:56But to verify it and then eliminate that risk, will take years for Americans to, you know, digest.
25:01All right.
25:02Jitin Jain, Michael and Andrew, KP Leung, really appreciate your time.
25:06Thank you for joining us.
25:08There's a piece of breaking news coming in now.
25:10After Kulgum firing incident, two special police officers of Jamin Kashmir police have been reportedly gone missing in Kishtawar district.
25:20What we do know is that at approximately 3.30 p.m., two special operations group personnel were heading towards
25:30Basnan area under Marwa police station.
25:33And during their movement, firing was reported in the forest area.
25:37And at the same time, the mobile network was also disrupted in the Marwa area.
25:42And approximately at 7 p.m., an SOG party, along with the SHO, proceeded towards the concerned area for necessary
25:54action.
25:56Meir Farid is joining us live from Srinagar.
25:58Meir, give us the details.
26:01Well, right now, the security forces are busy in this intense search operation.
26:07Two SPOs, as you rightly said, they were part of the special operation group of the Jamin Kashmir police, which
26:13specifically looks after anti-terror duties.
26:17Now, these are temporary operating bases that have been set up by joint forces at various locations, especially close to
26:24the forested area and routes that have been taken by terrorists in the last few years just to ensure that
26:31there is area domination and pressure is kept on them.
26:34Now, it seems that these two cops were heading towards one such QOB to relieve an army party.
26:41And it is during this time that they have gone missing.
26:44Since their phones are also coming switched off, the area doesn't have a great mobile connectivity.
26:50Some towers, we've been told, are also down.
26:53And since an intense search operation is on, the SOG, the police, some army parties have also joined in and
26:59they're trying to locate them.
27:01In fact, some gunshots have also been heard from the forest area at least two, three hours back.
27:07So, that is also adding to the worries of the security forces.
27:12They're trying to locate them, trying to get to them as early as possible.
27:16But as I said, senior officers are also at the location.
27:19It's a forested area.
27:21It's a tricky area of low visibility nighttime.
27:23So, the operation may take some time.
27:25But yes, two cops who are from the special operations group, specifically dealing with anti-terror operations,
27:32they have gone missing in Kashtawar.
27:35And obviously, all angles are being investigated.
27:37But right now, the focus is to somehow reach them and hope that they're safe.
27:43And they're brought back to safety.
27:46That's what they intend.
27:48And it's happening just some hours after what happened in Kulgam, where you had an attack on the CRPF party.
27:54And now, this new challenge for the security forces to find two of their own in Kashtawar.
27:59All right, Amir Farid, I appreciate your time.
28:02Thank you so much for joining us.
28:03Thank you so much for joining us.