President Donald Trump backed Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Sunday after Huang said he had been unfaithful to his wife with a woman US intelligence reportedly suspects was a Chinese spy.
“I think he’s an honorable guy,” Trump told reporters on Sunday. “I think he probably has an excuse for it. You have to hear it.”
Trump said that in response to a question about whether he wishes he had acted on US intelligence about the affair earlier.
Trump said he has not spoken to Huang about the matter, but added that Huang has done an “amazing job” for the US and should remain Nvidia’s CEO.
In a memo to Nvidia employees on Sunday, Huang said that he had been unfaithful to his wife and that his actions had hurt his family. He added that Nvidia’s board was launching an investigation into whether he was targeted by a foreign intelligence agency.
Late last month, The New York Times reported that US intelligence agencies had concluded that Huang was the target of a Chinese spy plot. The outlet reported that Alice Huang, a Chinese business executive and Nvidia chip buyer who is not related to the Nvidia CEO, had developed a close relationship with him and had passed information to Beijing. She had been recruited to seek information and potentially push for more advanced Nvidia chips to be made available in China, The Times reported.
Huang previously said he had a “normal” business relationship with the woman.
Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Sunday, Nvidia’s board said it had no reason to believe that national security or company secrets had been compromised, but said its inquiry would examine the available information. It added that Huang was cooperating with the investigation.
Huang has become an increasingly influential voice in Washington’s debate over chip-export restrictions on China. He has taken the position that strict limits on US chip sales could backfire by accelerating the growth of Chinese competitors.
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