Trump says FBI to probe Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Chinese spy

President Donald Trump said that he had spoken to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang earlier in the day Monday, after Nvidia revealed late Sunday that it had launched an investigation into his extramarital affair with an alleged Chinese spy.

Trump had called Huang, “To see if he’s feeling all right,” the president said at an impromptu press briefing.

Huang told him “he had absolutely no idea that the person in question was a spy,” Trump said.

“He said I had no idea that she was a spy, and I really, and I really believe him,” said Trump.

The president also said that the FBI was probing the events in question.

On Sunday, the Nvidia board announced it was “initiating an independent investigation in light of recent reporting that founder and CEO Jensen Huang has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort.”

At the same time, Huang announced that he had been “unfaithful to my wife,” while also apologizing to Nvidia employees.

“I was amazed because I view him as a very high quality person,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “He’s an amazing guy,” he continued, adding, “I hope there’s no problem.”

Trump indicated for the second time in as many days that he wanted Huang to remain the leader of the second largest public company in the world. “I think that he’ll be in good shape,” Trump said.

On Sunday, people familiar with the matter told NBC News that U.S. intelligence agencies had determined that Alice Huang, the woman who Jensen Huang allegedly had the affair with, was a Chinese spy. Jensen Huang and Alice Huang are not related.

Nvidia spokespeople did not immediately return a request for comment Monday following Trump’s remarks. Nvidia previously said Huang would remain CEO, despite the revelations.

Shares of Nvidia closed down 4.2% in Monday’s trading, bucking overall market momentum. The stock was the worst performing company in the Dow and Nasdaq.

The news surrounding Nvidia and Huang also drew intense congressional scrutiny.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY, on Monday called for “a full briefing” on the issues engulfing Nvidia. Jeffries is likely to be elected the next speaker of the House in January.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Jim Banks, R-Ind., also said in a joint statement that Congress should “take decisive action” regarding oversight of AI-linked companies.

The disclosures by Nvidia and Huang “makes these national security concerns even more urgent and raises important questions NVIDIA must answer,” Warren and Banks wrote.