Nvidia’s Governance Crisis Deepens as Huang Subpoena Deadline Passes

By Rebecca Stone

Nvidia has erased more than $1.8 trillion in market value from its Oct. 6 closing high, leaving the stock down more than 30% as scrutiny of former CEO Jensen Huang’s conduct intensified.

Reuters reported that Huang told Nvidia’s general counsel Tim Teter and chief marketing officer Alison Wagonfeld in two October messages that his interactions with Alice Huang were standard customer business. Alice Huang is a former executive of Nvidia customer Megaspeed. Reuters cited two people familiar with the matter and internal correspondence, saying it had reviewed only those October messages.

In autumn 2025, after press inquiries brought Megaspeed and Alice Huang to some Nvidia leaders’ attention, Huang described the interactions as appropriate; Reuters did not identify those leaders. Nvidia and a Huang representative declined to comment. Teter and Wagonfeld did not respond to Reuters.

Huang resigned as CEO on Nov. 12, days after acknowledging that he had been unfaithful to his wife. The two Huangs are not related.

Why does Teter’s 2025 call matter?

In late summer 2025, Teter called Commerce Under Secretary Jeffrey Kessler to ask whether the department’s enforcement arm was involved in Singapore’s detention of Alice Huang, Bloomberg reported. Nvidia said Teter did not know about the affair when he made that call. That distinction matters.

Reuters’s account does not say what Teter knew in 2025.

Weeks later, staff working on a Commerce smuggling case against Megaspeed were told to route Nvidia-related requests through Kessler, Bloomberg reported. The case later stalled after the Justice Department asked the agency to pause.

U.S. authorities have investigated Alice Huang over whether she was spying for China. She has not been charged, Beijing denies it, and Reuters said it has not independently verified whether she worked for the Chinese government.

Reuters verified photographs showing the two together in several countries dating to December 2023, but it was unclear when the relationship became intimate.

Who is handling the legal and political pressure?

Nvidia’s independent directors hired Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz on Nov. 10 to investigate, with former federal prosecutor Joon Kim leading the work.

Huang has also turned to Paul Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, Reuters reported separately Friday. The New York Times reported that partners Melinda Haag, a former U.S. attorney in San Francisco, and Walter Brown are working with him; Reuters could not independently confirm which lawyers represent Huang.

CNBC and The Information had reported the hire on Nov. 12. Paul Weiss, Nvidia and a Huang spokesperson gave no immediate comment on the scope of the work.

Reuters described Paul Weiss as best known in Washington for its 2025 settlement with President Donald Trump. After Trump’s March 2025 executive order suspended its lawyers’ security clearances and restricted their access to federal buildings, the firm agreed to provide $40 million in pro bono services to help rescind it.

The services covered projects mutually agreed with the White House, and eight other firms struck similar deals. Longtime chairman Brad Karp, who called the order “an existential threat,” stepped down in February 2026 after emails surfaced showing his communications with Jeffrey Epstein. He has not been accused of wrongdoing.

Trump’s own purchases of Nvidia stock have drawn scrutiny.

What happens if Huang and Teter miss the deadline?

Republican chairs Brian Mast of Foreign Affairs, John Moolenaar of the China Select Committee and Rick Crawford of Intelligence issued the interview requests.

• Nov. 13 deadline: Huang and Teter had to confirm participation by 8 p.m. ET Friday or face subpoenas.
• Dec. 1: Huang was asked to give a closed-door, transcribed interview.
• Dec. 2: Teter was asked to do the same.

The letter seeking Huang’s interview was addressed to Brown at Paul Weiss. Mast told CNBC Huang had agreed to appear and expected testimony before Thanksgiving, “sooner rather than later,” warning that he would issue a subpoena if Huang did not come voluntarily.

As of Saturday morning, no response to the formal deadline had been reported.

Can Nvidia settle its succession fight?

Some Nvidia allies want Huang back. Politico reported Friday that figures in Silicon Valley were plotting a comeback. MLQ.ai reported that some Nvidia employees have urged the board to reinstate him.

The board has separately approached Arm chief executive René Haas about the top job, the Financial Times reported. Interim CEO Colette Kress is due to address employees at a company meeting Nov. 18, the day after Nvidia reports third-quarter results.

Nvidia’s next competitive test is leadership continuity: Kress’s Nov. 18 appearance, the board’s outreach to Haas and any Huang comeback will shape how quickly the company can move past the governance overhang.