US intel ‘still working’ to determine if Alice Huang was a Chinese spy: Report

WASHINGTON, DC: US intelligence agencies are still trying to figure out whether Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman linked to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, actually worked for Beijing or not, according to a CNN report. So far, officials haven’t uncovered solid evidence tying her to China’s Ministry of State Security, even though earlier reports labeled her as a Chinese spy.

On Thursday, CNN’s Natasha Bertrand explained on 'The Lead with Jake Tapper' that the situation with Alice Huang remains murky. Some officials from the Trump administration claim she had connections to the Chinese government. But within the broader intelligence community, many say the evidence just isn’t strong enough to prove she was spying on Jensen Huang. Right now, her role and intentions are still up in the air.

Intelligence agencies have not established whether Alice Huang was a Chinese asset

Bertrand told Jake Tapper that US intelligence officials are still digging into the businesswoman’s connections with the Chinese government. They’re reviewing intercepted communications and other intelligence they’ve picked up about her.

"So essentially, the US Intelligence community is still trying to understand exactly what her relationship was with the Chinese government."

"You have some Trump administration officials who are convinced that simply by virtue of the fact that she was a successful Chinese businesswoman who was very close to one of America’s most important national security executives, that she was obviously having some kind of a relationship with the Chinese government."

She explained that people at the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence don’t think the existing evidence proves Alice Huang was actually recruited as an asset by China’s Ministry of State Security, the Chinese version of the CIA, as Bertrand put it.
Previous reports had gone further, claiming she was a fully recruited Chinese agent sent specifically to spy on Jensen Huang. But Bertrand said the latest intelligence is less clear. Agencies are still trying to get a better picture.

She stressed that the uncertainty did not mean Alice Huang had no relationship with the Chinese government. Bertrand also noted that China's national security law can compel citizens, particularly influential business figures, to provide information to the government.

Intercepted communications raised concerns about information reaching China

Even without definitive proof that Alice Huang was recruited as a spy, Bertrand said intelligence officials still saw her as a counterintelligence risk. Her business ties and closeness to Jensen Huang made them uneasy.

Intercepted communications pointed to someone in Nvidia chief Jensen Huang’s inner circle feeding information that eventually ended up with Chinese intelligence. Whether Alice Huang was the one involved remained unclear.

This all followed Tapper’s report citing a memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which showed Trump got briefed on the relationship last fall. Tapper pressed the issue, asking why the president kept a close tie to Jensen Huang despite all these red flags.

Interesting. According to Natasha, a memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Trump was told about this affair, this relationship last fall.

"And yet President Trump seems to have maintained a very close relationship with Jensen Huang throughout that time. Is that a major concern still, even with this new reporting, for intelligence officials?" She said.

Bertrand said the proximity between Alice Huang, the Nvidia chief, and Trump could still pose a risk to US officials, even if she was not a formally recruited intelligence asset.

"Yes, because even as I said, if she was not necessarily a recruited asset of China’s kind of state intelligence apparatus, the mere fact that she is a Chinese businesswoman with presumably connections to the Chinese government makes her a counterintelligence risk."

"And the very fact that she was so close to Jensen Huang, who, of course, was also close to President Trump, that proximity could make her a threat to some US Officials," Bertrand added.

Trump defended the executive during a news conference on Monday, insisting that Jensen Huang did not know Alice Huang was a spy. Bertrand's account, however, suggests that US intelligence agencies have yet to reach a definitive conclusion about her alleged role.