First posted on Instagram
Republican Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, has called on Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang to step down after revelations of Huang's affair with a Chinese businesswoman alleged to be a spy for Beijing.
"The potential for extortion is so tremendous that something as sensitive as Nvidia chips, I just think he's got to go," Cramer told Politico late on Tuesday.
"If the worst thing he did in real life is infidelity with this woman who may or may not be a Chinese spy — but she might be — that's enough, because whatever else there is, we don't know. And to me, that's a security risk."
Cramer's remarks follow a New York Times report last month that U.S. officials had determined Alice Huang, a corporate executive at a Singapore-based data centre company who cultivated a close relationship with the Nvidia chief, functioned as a Chinese intelligence asset suspected of facilitating the diversion of advanced microprocessors to Beijing. Allegations have since emerged that the relationship aided at least $7.5 billion in Nvidia chip shipments to China.
Nvidia's board has opened an independent investigation into the affair, and its independent directors have hired outside counsel. The FBI is separately examining whether Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation, President Donald Trump said on Monday. Trump has said he does not recall a classified memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio warning about the affair, and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has demanded answers from the administration and tighter curbs on chip exports to China.
Cramer serves on the Senate Banking Committee, which has jurisdiction over measures that can restrict high-performance chip shipments to foreign destinations. His remarks came hours after former National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow urged Huang to relinquish his post.
Nvidia has shed about $430 billion in market value over two sessions as new reports deepened questions about Huang's relationship with the woman alleged to be a spy, according to AAP. Huang is due to give a closed-door briefing to the chairs of three House committees on November 18.