Jensen Huang, the former Nvidia CEO who was pushed out of the company following reports he had an affair with a woman suspected of spying for China, has agreed to testify before Congress under oath.
Bloomberg reports that House Foreign Affairs Chairman Brian Mast (R-FL) told reporters that Huang agreed to appear after several senior lawmakers threatened to subpoena him.
The testimony is expected to happen before Thanksgiving. Mast said it will take place behind closed doors, though it will be recorded on video and transcribed. Three congressional bodies plan to take part: the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which Mast chairs, the House China panel and the House Intelligence panel.
Mast has clashed publicly with Huang before, particularly over export controls. But he said the stakes go beyond any one policy dispute. “Jensen and I have been very at odds as some of you already know on export controls, but Nvidia is a very important company to the United States of America,” Mast said.
He added that he isn’t looking to damage the company itself, even as Huang faces scrutiny. “I don’t want to see anything hurt in Nvidia, but he has some very serious questions to answer,” Mast said.
Huang’s departure from Nvidia followed reports of a relationship with a woman suspected of working on behalf of Chinese intelligence. What Huang may have disclosed or discussed during that relationship is expected to be central to lawmakers’ questions when he appears before the three committees.
Breitbart News has reported extensively on Jensen Huang’s ouster. The company’s own shareholders are suing the tech giant over losses caused by the scandal:
The law firm of Schall, Brown & Schwartz was the first to launch an investigation of Nvidia over the Chinese spy scandal. The class-action lawsuit was then filed by the Rosen Law Firm.
The lawsuit claims Huang and Nvidia misled shareholders about the national security concerns the relationship raised, and that the omission artificially propped up Nvidia’s share price. “As a result of Defendants’ wrongful acts and omissions, and the precipitous decline in the market value of the Company’s securities, Plaintiff and other Class members have suffered significant losses and damages,” the complaint states.
Nvidia has said it launched an independent investigation into Huang. The company’s board opened its inquiry after reports described Huang as “the target of a foreign intelligence effort,” and Nvidia shares fell in the aftermath. Beijing has denied the allegation.
Read more at Bloomberg here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of AI, free speech, and online censorship.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.