Nvidia Staff Could Face Accountability as Bessent Faults Commerce Dept for Failing to Blacklist Megaspeed
Commerce controls blacklist authority
Bessent said on Friday that several government departments had backed adding Megaspeed to the entity list, a trade blacklist. He said the Commerce Department had authority over the decision.
On CNBC, Bessent said the Treasury and his deputy had pressed for the measure for months at the deputies level. He said questions about Commerce’s internal process should be directed to the department.
Bessent questions Nvidia safeguards
Bessent said attention should focus on whether Nvidia knew its client and took strong steps to prevent products from reaching unintended recipients. He referred to sales to what he called pass-through shell companies.
He said people at the company should be held accountable if they had failed to comply with the law. The article does not say whether Nvidia knew of or enabled any unlawful activity.
Administration faces rising pressure
Frustration over Megaspeed has grown within the administration and on Capitol Hill. The company is led by Alice Huang, whom U.S. intelligence deemed an asset for the Chinese government.
The article says Huang had a relationship with Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang. It reports that he resigned from the company on Thursday after revelations about that relationship and another affair, and that Nvidia’s stock price cratered.
Key points
- Bessent faulted Commerce for not sanctioning Megaspeed.
- He said several departments had supported adding the firm to the entity list for months.
- Bessent called for accountability if Nvidia employees sidestepped the law.
- The article links rising scrutiny to revelations involving Alice Huang and Jensen Huang.