U.S. Department of Justice: “We cannot yet reach a conclusion on whether Ellis Huang is a Chinese spy”

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Oh Soo-jin = U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanch announced that he has not yet reached a conclusion regarding the suspicion of espionage by Alice Huang (Chinese name: Huang Le), the affair partner of former NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang.

According to the U.S. CNN broadcast on the 12th (local time), Secretary Blanche said at a press conference held in Washington D.C. that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is naturally investigating reports that Alice Huang worked as a spy for the Chinese government.

However, he said that "the Department of Justice, myself, and FBI Director Patel have not yet reached a conclusion" on whether she was a spy or not.

Previously, President Donald Trump also emphasized in an interview released today that he did not know whether Alice Huang was a spy.

In an interview released on the 'Straight Shooter' podcast that day, President Trump was asked whether Jensen Huang should resign as CEO of NVIDIA, and said, "The important thing is whether she was a spy. If she was a spy, then yes. If she was not a spy, maybe the situation would be different."

Citing sources, CNN reported that the U.S. Department of National Intelligence (DNI) believes that its definition of Alice Huang as a Chinese spy is inaccurate and exaggerated.

Officials from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) also told CNN that based on the information obtained so far, it is difficult to conclude that Alice Huang intentionally passed information to China.

Rep. Jim Himes, the Democratic ranking member of the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, also told Politico, a political media outlet, that he had held a confidential briefing with a senior intelligence official earlier this week, but was not sure about the relationship between Alice Huang and the Chinese government, adding, "At least right now, I don't know anything."

However, even if Alice Hwang's espionage activities were not confirmed, concerns were raised within the U.S. government that she may be a dangerous person from a counterintelligence perspective.

This is because under China's national security law, Chinese citizens can be forced to cooperate with the government's intelligence collection activities, and through his relationship with Jensen Huang, he was able to access not only NVIDIA but also U.S. policy makers.

U.S. intelligence authorities began an investigation last year after first discovering the relationship between Jensen Huang and Alice Huang.

According to CNN, Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio wrote a memo warning about their relationship early this year and reported it to President Trump in May.

Previously, the U.S. information technology (IT) media outlet The Information, citing sources who knew Alice Huang, reported on the 10th that Alice Huang exploited her relationship with Jensen Huang to contribute to the indirect leak or transport of NVIDIA artificial intelligence (AI) chips worth at least 7.5 billion dollars (about 10 trillion won) to Chinese companies.

Jensen Huang, who admitted to having an affair with Alice Huang, resigned as CEO amid reports that he had an inappropriate relationship with another woman.