FBI probing Nvidia CEO's relationship, Trump says
US President Donald Trump has said the FBI is probing Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's relationship with a woman accused of working for Chinese intelligence services.
Trump made the remarks while speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday. He said Huang had admitted that he engaged in an extramarital relationship with a Chinese executive named Alice Huang. Law enforcement began inquiries following that admission.
"We'll look into it. I know the FBI is looking into it in terms of something else," Trump told reporters at the news conference.
Trump said Huang had told him earlier that he had "absolutely no idea" that the woman was an alleged intelligence agent. "He said I had no idea that she was a spy, and I really believe him," Trump said.
Asked when he first became aware of concerns about the relationship, Trump said it was "not too long ago." "I have been hearing about it and I have been reading a little bit about it over a period of time," the US president said.
Nvidia, one of the world's most valuable companies, announced on Sunday that it had opened a probe into its CEO's relationship with the woman, following media reports that US intelligence officials had determined that she was working for China's Ministry of State Security.
Nvidia's board of directors said it had no reason to believe that national security or company secrets were compromised, but that an independent inquiry overseen by outside counsel would examine "all available information."
Attention is now on Nvidia's inquiry after Trump's comments. According to the board's announcement, the independent inquiry overseen by outside counsel will continue, and all available information will be examined.
