Jensen Huang, who stepped down as Nvidia's chief executive on Thursday, is willing to appear before three U.S. House committees to answer questions about his contacts with a former Megaspeed executive whom U.S. officials reportedly suspected of spying for China, according to the Republican chairs leading the request.

Rep. Brian Mast, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Huang had indicated he was willing to appear, CBS News reported on Thursday, Nov. 12. NBC News also reported, citing Mast, that Huang had agreed to brief lawmakers, while other members said negotiations were underway. For investors in Asia, the session would keep attention on how advanced Nvidia processors reach buyers in Southeast Asia, and on the Singapore data center operator at the center of the case. Huang has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

What the House chairs have asked Jensen Huang

The request dates to Nov. 4, when Mast, Rep. John Moolenaar of the House Select Committee on China and Rep. Rick Crawford of the Intelligence Committee asked Huang to attend a closed-door briefing with all three panels, as Capital Times reported at the time. The letter set out two subjects: Nvidia's safeguards against foreign espionage and Huang's dealings with what the chairs called a publicly reported intelligence asset of the People's Republic of China, according to CBS News. The chairs wrote that recent reports raised "significant national security concerns" about China's access to sensitive U.S. technology, the Press Association reported.

The format remains a private briefing, not a public hearing. No date has been set. Moolenaar said the chairs were "in discussions with him right now" on a date, according to CBS News. He said the aim was to bring Huang in as soon as possible to understand the facts. Citing NBC News, Just The News reported that Moolenaar is seeking a suitable time for Huang to brief the committees.

Mast and Moolenaar both said they had received Huang's response. Moolenaar said all three chairs would use their subpoena power if the meeting does not take place, CBS News reported. He added that Huang's resignation "does change the dynamic," without saying how. Republicans control both chambers of Congress until January.

Lawmakers want to cover three areas, according to CBS News: Nvidia's security practices against espionage, Huang's contacts with the suspected asset, and the company's relationship with Megaspeed.

Senate interest and the political backdrop

Interest is not limited to the House. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he expected "an interest in doing oversight" and that testimony would make sense given the national security concerns, CBS News reported. Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, said on CNBC that he would support a subpoena, and a spokesperson said that remained his position after the resignation.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Congress must press Huang and others at Nvidia, and that the Trump administration must explain how it responded once it learned of the relationship, according to CBS News. President Donald Trump, a friend of Huang, played down the matter. On Monday, Trump said Huang had told him he had "absolutely no idea" the person was a spy, the Press Association reported.

Huang's resignation followed new reports on Wednesday about an affair with a company executive who reported to him, Just The News said. Earlier, on Nov. 8, he told staff he had been unfaithful to his wife and said he supported a board investigation, which Capital Times covered here. "I support the investigation and will co-operate fully," Huang said, according to the Press Association.

Megaspeed and the export-control question

The allegations trace to a New York Times report in October that U.S. intelligence agencies had concluded Alice Huang, an executive who is not related to Jensen Huang, was a Chinese spy, according to the Press Association. She ran Megaspeed International, a Singapore-based company.

CBS News reported that Megaspeed gained access to advanced chips that are barred from export to China and is under investigation in the United States and Singapore over the alleged smuggling of those chips into China. The Press Association reported that Megaspeed had been suspected of illicitly shipping restricted Nvidia chips to China and did not report any charges. China's foreign ministry has called the espionage allegation "unsubstantiated," according to the same report.

For regional cloud and data center operators that buy U.S. chips, the inquiry adds attention to where that hardware ends up once it leaves Nvidia.

Markets have already reacted to the affair. Nvidia shares fell 8% at the open of Wall Street trading on Monday, Nov. 9, before recovering slightly, the Press Association reported.

The next marker is the briefing date the chairs are negotiating with Huang. Moolenaar has said a subpoena would follow if no meeting is agreed.