House Republicans threaten to subpoena Jensen Huang over the alleged spy affair

Bloomberg reports, citing two House Republicans, that Congress is preparing to subpoena Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. House China committee chair John Moolenaar said on Fox Business Wednesday that Huang had until the end of the day to respond and that a subpoena is likely if he doesn’t agree to a briefing. Brian Mast, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said his committee is preparing one. Nvidia did not immediately respond to TechCrunch.

It follows last week’s letter from Mast, Moolenaar and Rick Crawford asking Huang to appear for a joint, closed-door briefing about his relationship with Alice Huang, the Megaspeed executive suspected of being a Chinese spy (the summons). Earlier reporting tied a Megaspeed executive to an alleged effort to spy on Nvidia’s chief executive (NYT report).

A closed-door briefing is the gentle option, something a CEO can attend quietly and walk away from. A subpoena is a different instrument, and two committee chairs talking about one publicly suggests the request hasn’t met the cooperation they wanted. Both the House China committee and Foreign Affairs hold sway over technology export policy toward China.

Nvidia’s best move was always to show up. Its chips sit at the center of national security debates over exports to China (China ambitions), and lawmakers have a legitimate interest in whether anyone close to leadership was a channel for a foreign government (what China could get). Answering privately protects the company far better than being compelled to.

These are allegations, and the reporting rests on what lawmakers say publicly, including on cable TV. Public deadlines from politicians can be as much about pressure as process. Nothing here establishes that secrets were passed. The board had already opened its own review (investigation).

If a subpoena is issued, the fight moves from Nvidia’s reputation to its relationship with Washington, just when the company needs that relationship for export policy. Within a day Huang had resigned (resignation), but Moolenaar has said a subpoena is still likely without a briefing, and Democrats take over key committees in January (timeline). More in our Nvidia coverage and regulation coverage.