When the President of the United States gets asked about your love life at a news conference, you know the week has gone badly. That’s where Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is right now.
On Monday, 9 November 2026, President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that the FBI is looking into the Nvidia spy story. In the same breath he defended Huang and said he believes him. So the government is checking, and the president is vouching. Both things are true at the same time, and that’s what makes this one confusing.
Here’s what Trump said word for word, what the FBI is (and isn’t) known to be doing, and where the scandal goes from here.
What Trump said about the FBI
According to Al Jazeera, Trump told reporters at a White House news conference:
“We’ll look into it. I know the FBI is looking into it in terms of something else.”
He then talked about his conversation with Huang:
“He said, ‘I had no idea that she was a spy,’ and I really believe him.”
And he added: “I think he will be in good shape.”
When reporters asked how long he had known about the concerns, Trump said “not too long ago,” and that “I have been hearing about it and I have been reading a little bit about it over a period of time.”
Read the FBI line again, though. Trump didn’t say the FBI is investigating Jensen Huang. He said the FBI is looking into it “in terms of something else.” He didn’t explain what the something else is. Some headlines have run with “FBI probing Huang’s affair,” but that goes further than his actual words.
Has the FBI confirmed anything?
No. We couldn’t find any on-record statement from the FBI or the Justice Department about Jensen Huang in the reports published so far. Everything about FBI involvement comes from Trump’s own comment.
There is a separate federal probe that has been reported. Digital Trends says the Justice Department is looking into whether Megaspeed, the Singapore data centre company linked to Alice Huang, helped China get Nvidia chips that are restricted under US export rules. It’s possible that’s the “something else” Trump meant. It’s also possible it isn’t. Nobody in the government has said.
Trump has backed Huang from the start
This isn’t the first time Trump has been asked about it. On Saturday, 31 October, two days after the New York Times first reported US officials’ concerns about Alice Huang, Trump spoke to reporters at his Florida residence. Per AFP via eNCA, he said:
- “I have a lot of respect for Jensen. I didn’t know about the specific thing, but I hope he’s going to be OK.”
- “He’s a great, brilliant person, and we want to protect our brilliant people.”
- “We’re going to check it out very closely.”
Asked if Huang would stay on as one of his advisers, Trump said “I would like to say yes,” and added, “unless we find out something to the contrary, I’ve always found Jensen Huang to be very above board.” He also said, “you’re dealing in a very complex issue.”
Yahoo Finance’s live coverage also reported Trump calling Huang “an honorable guy.”
So in ten days, Trump’s message hasn’t changed much. He likes Huang, he believes Huang, and the government will still take a look.
A quick recap of the Nvidia spy scandal
If you are just catching up, here’s the short version.
- 29 October: The New York Times reported US officials believed Alice Huang, a businesswoman tied to Megaspeed, was passing information to Beijing.
- 6 November: The Financial Times reported on a US government memo describing a romantic relationship between her and Jensen Huang. (She is not related to him.)
- 8 November: Huang admitted to an affair. In a memo to staff he wrote: “I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.” Nvidia’s board started an independent investigation the same day, run by independent directors with outside lawyers. The board said it had “no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised.”
- 9 November: The FT reported Alice Huang had pitched investors on a Southeast Asia data centre and said getting Nvidia GPUs wouldn’t be a problem. Trump made his FBI comment the same day.
We covered the investor pitch and Megaspeed’s chip purchases in detail in our article on the alleged Chinese spy linked to Nvidia.
None of the spy claims have been proven in public, and no charges have been filed. Alice Huang hasn’t commented publicly, Al Jazeera reported. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun called the reports “groundless speculation, and a smear against China.”
The new $7.5 billion chip claim
The same day Trump spoke, another report added fuel. Digital Trends, citing The Information, reported that at least $7.5 billion worth of Nvidia AI chips, around 240,000 H-series and A-series chips, ended up with companies in China. The Information’s sources were two people who know Alice Huang.
The report also says a company called Shanghai Century Litong, linked to Alice Huang’s sister, was founded in June 2023 and got Nvidia preferred cloud partner status about four months later. Some chips reportedly reached Alibaba and Tencent.
Be careful with these numbers. Digital Trends points out the details “have not been officially verified by Nvidia or US agencies,” and we haven’t seen a second outlet confirm the $7.5 billion figure. Nvidia has said its own earlier review of Megaspeed “found no evidence of diversion.”
What happened to Nvidia stock
Nvidia closed Monday at $178.67, down 4.27%, Al Jazeera reported. That came on a day when the Dow jumped more than 1,100 points and chip stocks rallied hard, which we broke down in our piece on US stocks surging despite the Nvidia scandal.
Tuesday’s trading will be the first full session since Trump’s FBI comment made headlines, so keep an eye on how investors take it.
What to watch next
- 11 November: Deadline for Huang to answer three House Republican committee chairs (Brian Mast, John Moolenaar and Rick Crawford) who want him at a closed-door briefing.
- 17 November: Nvidia reports third-quarter earnings. Analysts will get their first chance to ask management about the investigation.
- 18 November: The House briefing on Nvidia’s security protocols, if Huang attends on that date.
Also watch for any statement from the FBI or the Justice Department. Right now, the only person saying the FBI is involved is the president, and he hasn’t said what exactly it is looking at.
