Posted on 11/12/2026 3:41:05 PM PST by Miami Rebel
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confronted Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick last week over his handling of a Singaporean company at the heart of revelations about Chinese spying on Nvidia, demanding to know why the United States had not already banned sales of advanced A.I. chips to the firm.
The exchange, which took place at the White House on Thursday and was described by people briefed on it, highlighted growing tensions inside the Trump administration over A.I. policy in general and the Commerce Department’s posture toward Nvidia in particular.
The internal debate has only intensified after Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s chief executive, acknowledged he had an affair with a woman who had helped lead the Singaporean data center company, Megaspeed. The woman, Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen, has been identified by U.S. intelligence as a spy for China’s Ministry of State Security, The New York Times has reported.
Mr. Lutnick responded to Mr. Bessent that the Commerce Department could now move quickly to put restrictions on Megaspeed in place, said the people briefed on the exchange, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions were private.
The United States has imposed restrictions since late 2022 on selling advanced chips directly to China. But Megaspeed and other companies have sidestepped those rules by setting up data centers in Southeast Asia to cater to Chinese clients. U.S. officials have also been investigating Megaspeed for potentially diverting those chips illegally into China, a charge that Megaspeed has denied.
The move to blacklist Megaspeed had earlier been discussed at a meeting of the deputies of cabinet officials, where Jeffrey Kessler, an under secretary in the Commerce Department, deferred on taking action, saying that the decision was up to Mr. Lutnick.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
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Bear in mind that Huang's affair with a Chinese agent was known as far back as May, yet two days ago the President was calling him an "honorable guy."
And before someone complains about using the Times as a source, bear in mind that it was the Times, not the administration, that broke this story.
There is no honor among thieves.
nvidiagate
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