Bessent blames Commerce for Megaspeed blacklist failure as Nvidia scandal widens
11 Sources
[1]
Bessent blames Lutnick's commerce department for failure to blacklist Megaspeed
The salvo from US Treasury secretary threatens to further stoke tensions within Trump administration over Nvidia scandal US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent has blamed Howard Lutnick's commerce department for failing to ban exports of Nvidia's chips to Megaspeed, the Singapore-based company linked
[2]
Bessent says Treasury favored limits on Megaspeed
WASHINGTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday his department had favored putting Singapore-based cloud computing firm Megaspeed on the US entity list for months but that it was up to the Commerce Department to act, adding that the FTC could possibly take other
[3]
Bessent blames Lutnick's Commerce Department for failing to block Megaspeed
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has blamed the Commerce Department, run by Howard Lutnick, of failing to properly oversee the export of high-specification Nvidia chips, as the fallout from the scandal widens. Jensen Huang left the company he co-founded after revelations he had an affair a
[4]
Bessent says Commerce, not Treasury, decides on blacklisting Megaspeed
Bessent told CNBC that Treasury, State, the Pentagon and USTR backed listing Megaspeed for months. He also asked whether Nvidia knew it was selling to shell companies. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has blamed Howard Lutnick's Commerce Department for leaving Megaspeed off the US trade blacklist.
[5]
Bessent blames Lutnick's Commerce for Megaspeed blacklist delay
The Treasury secretary said State, Defense and the U.S. trade representative also backed the move, as Congress seeks testimony Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Commerce Department controls the decision to put Nvidia $NVDA customer Megaspeed on a U.S. export blacklist, a step his
[6]
Scott Bessent says Treasury wanted to blacklist Megaspeed 'for months,' blaming Howard Lutnick as Nvidia fallout widens: 'Commerce has the pen'
Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick is now facing public pressure from his fellow Cabinet members over his decision to not blacklist Megaspeed, the cloud computing company at the center of Nvidia ex-CEO Jensen Huang's affair with a suspected Chinese spy. The Treasury Department, among other
[7]
US Treasury chief blames Commerce Dept for failure in Nvidia scandal
Washington (United States) (AFP) - US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday blamed the Commerce Department for failing to blacklist Megaspeed, the Singapore company at the center of a scandal that prompted Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang to resign. Speaking on CNBC, Bessent said Treasury,
[8]
Bessent Blames Commerce For Not Imposing Megaspeed Restrictions After 'Months' Of Requests: 'Commerce Has The Pen'
"You'll have to ask them about their internal processes," the Treasury secretary said amid scrutiny of Nvidia's AI chip exports to China. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pushed blame on the Commerce Department for not placing restrictions on Megaspeed, the company involved in Nvidia's alleged spy
[9]
Bessent blames Lutnick's Commerce Department for not restricting Nvidia chips to China
Scott Bessent has publicly criticized the Commerce Department for its delay in implementing export controls on Nvidia chips. He stated that multiple departments, including Treasury, have sought to add Megaspeed to an export control list. Allegations regarding Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang's scandalous
[10]
Bessent Points Finger at Lutnick as White House Feud Over Nvidia Erupts - NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly told Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to "go f -- " himself during their 2024 battle for the Treasury job. On Friday, he found a more diplomatic way to put his old rival on the spot over the Nvidia China chip scandal. The dispute centers on Megaspeed,
[11]
Scott Bessent and Lutnick clash over Nvidia chips and China
Scott Bessent and Howard Lutnick have been rivals longer than either has held a Cabinet post. During the presidential transition, both men pursued the same job. Trump chose Bessent for Treasury and sent Lutnick to Commerce. Since then, they have clashed repeatedly over how hard to push back on
Share
Copy Link
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says Commerce blocked a months-long push to blacklist Megaspeed over Nvidia chip smuggling. Commerce denies the feud, and Lutnick's job is now openly in question.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday that his department and three other agencies had pressed for months to put the Singapore cloud firm Megaspeed on the US entity list, and that, by his account, the decision never happened because Commerce, which holds the pen, did not use it
1
. "Commerce has the pen... and you will have to ask them about their internal process," Bessent said in a television interview1
.
Source: HuffPost
The remarks are a public rebuke of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. They land at a volatile moment. Republicans lost both chambers of Congress in the midterms a week earlier
1
. And a day before the remarks, Nvidia's chief executive resigned over a scandal that put Megaspeed at the center of a smuggling investigation1
.The company that never made the list
Megaspeed is not on the entity list, the US blacklist of firms American companies need a licence to sell to, so Nvidia can legally keep shipping to it
2
. US agencies have spent more than a year investigating whether the firm smuggled Nvidia chips into China1
. Reported sales run past $4 billion over two years; The Information, counting a Malaysian subsidiary, reported at least $7.5 billion7
.
Source: Quartz
The scandal broke open on Thursday, when Jensen Huang resigned as Nvidia CEO after admitting, in a November 8 letter to employees, an extramarital affair with Alice Huang. Alice Huang is a former Megaspeed executive whom US authorities suspect of working with Chinese intelligence; Beijing denies the spying allegations
7
. The resignation is what turned a quiet interagency dispute into a public one. Nvidia's board said it will investigate the matter7
.Bessent argued the story should be about Nvidia's vetting, not Huang's personal life
4
. "The real story here should be: Did Nvidia know their client, and was there a robust effort at Nvidia to make sure that there was no leakage and that they were selling to what were obviously pass-through shell companies?" he said2
.
Source: The Next Web
The denial
The feud has a flashpoint. Axios reported that Bessent confronted Lutnick in the White House Situation Room this month over Megaspeed. Commerce spokeswoman Kristen Eichamer denied the conversation took place: "This is false. Secretary Bessent and Secretary Lutnick had no such conversation"
4
. Asked about it, Bessent would neither confirm nor deny the meeting. "We don't repeat conversations in the Situation Room," he said1
. A Commerce spokesperson told Semafor the two departments "have a great working relationship"4
.There is reporting beyond Bessent's own account. The New York Times reported that in 2025 Commerce stopped its Megaspeed probe after Nvidia's lawyer intervened. Lutnick, the paper reported, resisted tighter chip-sale limits for fear of worsening trade tensions with China
4
. Cantor Fitzgerald, the investment bank Lutnick once ran, held about $1.2 billion in Nvidia stock before Trump's second term, which began in 20256
. Fortune also reported that Lutnick had left roughly 100 companies, including China's DeepSeek, off the entity list before the scandal broke6
.Bessent said any leakage violates Trump's stated position that China should get no Nvidia chips above the H100, hurting US companies and helping China in the AI race
1
. He added that Washington already has every export-control authority it needs; they "just need to be implemented"2
.Related Stories
Congress moves in
The Senate Banking Committee has asked both Lutnick and Jensen Huang to testify on December 10
1
. House committees want a closed-door session with Huang on November 18, and the House Foreign Affairs chairman has called Commerce under secretary Jeff Kessler to appear on December 37
. Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana put it more bluntly: "The Commerce Department greenlit $4 billion of sales of advanced chips to the company of the spy that Mr. Huang was having an affair with and I want to know why"9
.Some Republicans defended Lutnick. "We don't need to shoot Howard today," said Senator Jim Justice of West Virginia
4
. Commerce says Lutnick agreed to testify without being compelled5
.Reuters reported that senior White House officials are discussing whether to remove Lutnick
8
. On the prediction market Polymarket, odds of his departure by year-end hit 65% on Friday, up from about 20% earlier in the month10
. A White House official said Trump "maintains complete confidence" in him8
.References
Summarized by
Navi
Related Stories
Recent Highlights
Recent Highlights
Today's Top Stories
Don’t drown in AI news. We cut through the noise - filtering, ranking and summarizing the most important AI news, breakthroughs and research daily. Follow topics that matter to you and stay ahead.
