“Why Wasn’t Megaspeed Sanctioned?” ... US Treasury and Commerce Secretaries Clash Over Jensen Huang Scandal

[Financial News] NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has admitted to having an affair with a woman who is a former Megaspeed executive suspected of being a Chinese spy. Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick clashed at the White House over sanctions against Megaspeed. The controversy is widening amid allegations that Lutnick delayed export controls on companies, including Megaspeed, suspected of illegally exporting semiconductors to China, despite requests from other US government departments.
According to reports on the 11th local time by the US daily The New York Times (NYT) and the political news outlet Axios, Bessent challenged Lutnick at a White House meeting on the 5th, asking, “How is Megaspeed not on the Commerce Department’s ‘restricted list’?” Lutnick hesitated before replying, “I don’t know. I’ll look into it.”
According to further reporting by Axios, then-Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were also at the meeting. The other attendees supported Bessent’s position. Lutnick reportedly seemed to agree, then said quietly, “I’ll have to check with the president.”
One attendee responded, “Good. Then why not do it today?” The attendees moved to the Oval Office at around 5 p.m. and briefed President Donald Trump on the issue. Trump called Tesla CEO Elon Musk to ask his opinion, and Musk reportedly backed the position of Bessent, Rubio, Hegseth and Greer that export controls on Megaspeed and other companies should be tightened.
Lutnick expressed concern that “the measure would trigger a trade war with China,” but Trump reportedly approved moving forward, saying, “Let’s do that.” Lutnick then said, “I’ll put together a few options and report back,” but other attendees reportedly objected, saying, “It’s already been decided, so just implement it.”
In response to these reports, a Commerce Department spokesperson dismissed them, saying, “Secretary Bessent and Secretary Lutnick never had such a conversation,” and adding, “Whether a company is placed on the restricted list is decided at the administration level, not by the Commerce Department alone.”
However, controversy over the US administration’s inadequate response to Megaspeed appears to be growing rapidly. According to reports, White House and intelligence officials had called for action against Megaspeed since last fall, but Lutnick and senior Commerce Department officials reportedly did not accede to those requests. In addition, a proposal to add Megaspeed to the restricted list was discussed at a meeting of deputy-level officials, but then-Commerce Deputy Secretary Jeffril Kessler reportedly said the decision was Lutnick’s to make. The controversy is therefore unlikely to die down anytime soon.
Against this backdrop, the fallout is expected to widen further, as Trump, like Lutnick, was reportedly briefed on the contents of a highly classified administration memo related to the Jensen Huang scandal while traveling to China last May. Lutnick had circulated the memo in advance, and Rubio reportedly shared it with Trump in May.
[email protected] Hong Chae-wan Reporter