Top Intel Dem Unsure If Alice Huang Is A Chinese Spy Or ‘useful Idiot’ After Classified Briefing

Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the likely incoming chair of the House Intelligence Committee, is unsure whether a business executive who cultivated close ties with Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang is a Chinese spy, based on information he received from U.S. intelligence officials in a classified briefing earlier this week.

In a wide-ranging interview on Wednesday, Himes told POLITICO he left the briefing given by heads of U.S. intelligence agencies to top lawmakers on the House and Senate intelligence committees without clarity on whether Alice Huang knowingly cultivated information for the Chinese government on the $4 trillion U.S. chip company, or was a “useful idiot” unaware of China’s wider espionage activities.

“What’s the relationship with Alice Huang and the Chinese, and what do we know about what influence or information was traded? Because today, at least, I don’t know,” he said.

He noted that the classified briefing touched on multiple subjects, including the Nvidia CEO’s relationship with Huang, who is associated with Singapore-based data center company Megaspeed.

The New York Times first reported last month that U.S. intelligence agencies were closely monitoring Huang for potentially steering high-powered Nvidia chips to China despite existing export bans, as well as for her close relationship with the tech billionaire.

The Nvidia chief executive later admitted to having an affair but did not refer to anyone by name.

Himes told POLITICO the FBI should have begun investigating Alice Huang earlier this year after a “memo circulated” around government offices raising concerns about her links to the Chinese government, though he clarified that he had not seen the memo.

“I would hope that the FBI would launch a major counterintelligence investigation. I haven’t heard that they did,” he said, adding that when he asked Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, “they didn't know” whether the FBI had opened an investigation.

President Donald Trump said earlier this week that the FBI is probing the situation and that he expects the Nvidia executive to “be in good shape.”

Separate spokespeople for the FBI, ODNI and CIA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on any potential assessments of Huang’s reported links to Chinese intelligence.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly oversaw the drafting of a memo warning top Trump officials that Nvidia’s chief was targeted by Chinese intelligence operations. Trump was reportedly informed of this assessment while en route to China in May for a state visit, though Trump denied knowing about the intelligence.

Nvidia this week announced an investigation into its CEO, and top U.S. government officials have called on Huang to step down. On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported the company was preparing to oust Huang in response to the scandal.

Himes, who is currently the ranking member of the House Intelligence panel, told POLITICO that he wants to know more about what the Nvidia CEO may have shared, such as trade secrets on Nvidia chip research and development or information on Trump’s schedule during his trip to China, which the tech leader was present for.

He also raised concerns that Alice Huang might have influenced Nvidia’s decision to sell its advanced H200 chips to China, a move the Trump administration cleared despite national security concerns raised by Democratic lawmakers.

“The president is playing a very dangerous game when he wants to send these things to China, which of course is exactly what we worry about in this Nvidia case,” Himes said