WASHINGTON, Nov 9 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Monday said he spoke to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang after a media report linked him to a businesswoman accused of passing information to China, and that Huang told him that he had no idea that the woman was a spy.
Nvidia’s board launched a probe after the New York Times said Huang had a close relationship with a Chinese businesswoman whom US intelligence officials believe shared information with Beijing. Nvidia shares hit a seven-month low on Monday.
Trump, who said he had spoken to Huang on Monday, said he was “amazed” by the allegations and that the FBI was now looking into the issue.
“I asked him that question ‘Did you have any idea that she was a spy?’ He said ‘I had no idea that she was a spy’ and I really believe him,” Trump told a White House briefing.
“I know the FBI is looking into it,” Trump said. “I think that he’ll be in good shape,” he added.
Huang is one of Trump’s closest allies in Silicon Valley, and the relationship between the two dates to at least 2025.
Over the past two years, he has repeatedly voiced support for the administration’s agenda and become a regular presence in Washington as Nvidia sought to sell advanced chips to the Chinese market.
(Reporting by Steve Holland and Humeyra Pamuk; editing by Michelle Nichols and David Ljunggren)
