CNN says CIA officials are still unsure whether Huang Le deliberately passed intelligence to Beijing, while the Washington Post says the Rubio memo that ignited the Jensen Huang scandal used tougher language than the CIA report. (Previously: Did the Wall Street Journal frame “Huang Le”? Singapore government responds: No evidence found that she was suspected of being a Chinese spy) (Background: Major news! Nvidia’s Jensen Huang resigns; CFO Colette Kress takes over Nvidia in a crisis) The U.S. intelligence community still has not determined whether Megaspeed’s former CEO, Alice Huang, was a spy gathering intelligence for Beijing. But according to the Washington Post, the classified memo that ignited the Jensen Huang scandal used stronger language than the CIA’s original report. What did the two reports say? On November 12, U.S. time, CNN reported that several sources said the intelligence gathered so far was insufficient to prove that Huang Le was a spy working for Beijing. CIA officials “are not yet convinced” that the intelligence, including intercepted communications, proves she deliberately sent information back to Beijing. Some officials at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), including people close to Director Jay Clayton, believe that calling her a Chinese spy is “not entirely accurate” and goes too far. On November 13, the Washington Post reported that the classified memo that ignited the scandal was written by Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio. A person familiar with the matter said he used the CIA report as a draft and rewrote it “in his own, tougher language.” The CIA declined to comment. The two timelines should be considered separately: the CIA’s “not yet convinced” reflects the view “as of now,” as described by CNN, while the memo was written in the spring. How did the memo come about, and who received it? CNN’s November 13 report said that intelligence agencies intercepted communications this spring indicating that a Megaspeed executive was having an affair with an American. The American’s identity was routinely masked. After seeing the raw intelligence, officials requested that it be “unmasked,” and learned that the person was Jensen Huang. This is an uncommon procedure that requires an application by a very senior official and a review. Rubio then drafted a memo summarizing the intelligence and sent it to only a very small group of senior officials, including people inside the White House. The purpose was to make officials dealing with Jensen Huang aware of the relationship. The memo was not written specifically for Trump, but Trump was briefed on it several times. On a flight to China in May, Rubio gave an oral briefing aboard Air Force One. Jensen Huang joined the delegation later in Alaska. On November 9, Trump publicly said he had not known about it beforehand, while White House officials also told CNN that these sources “have no idea what they’re talking about.” CNN said it was unclear how much detail the memo contained. Several sources who read it considered informing officials who dealt with Jensen Huang a prudent move. Separately, Axios reported on November 10 that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had also received a highly classified memo warning about the relationship, but the report did not say who sent it. What do people inside the intelligence community think? Opinions are divided. Some Trump administration officials say she is a successful Chinese businesswoman who has ties to some of America’s most powerful companies, and that it is hard to believe she is not working for the Chinese government. Other officials believe that even if she has not passed along anything, her access to Jensen Huang—and, in turn, to Trump—poses a clear counterintelligence risk. The FBI has been investigating the relationship for at least a year. On November 12, Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department and FBI had “not reached a conclusion” about who she is, and Trump himself also said he “didn’t know if they’d determined that.” Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs said she was being investigated for false declarations related to server procurement, not for spying. Why would anyone want to use stronger language? According to the Washington Post, Jensen Huang’s unusual closeness to Trump and his success in securing permission to sell AI chips to China sparked a backlash from hawks in Washington. A former official said, “They want to destroy Jensen Huang’s influence over the president.” The Post described his departure as a major victory for the hawks. At the G7 meeting in Paris, Rubio repeatedly declined to discuss his role. When asked whether his views on AI talks with Beijing had changed, he only said, “I work for the American people.” On the other hand, some of the people cited by CNN believe that the focus on whether she is a spy has overshadowed the fact that the U.S. government failed to stop advanced chips from being transshipped to China. Megaspeed is a major buyer of Nvidia chips. The Justice Department and Commerce Department began investigating it in 2024, and people inside the White House have also been asking why the Commerce Department did not put it on the Entity List while the investigation was underway. Related coverage Jensen Huang caught up in “Chinese beauty spy” storm! NYT says U.S. had been monitoring her for a long time, and Trump knew but took no action Could Jensen Huang also fall for a beautiful woman? FT: U.S. intelligence believes he had a romantic relationship with a Chinese female spy; Nvidia declined to comment Trump says Jensen Huang called and admitted to him: What hurts most is having hurt his wife and family Is Beijing the biggest loser from Jensen Huang’s resignation? China loses its strongest advocate for easing chip restrictions U.S. reportedly plans to block China from renting overseas computing capacity to use Nvidia chips; seven countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, named This article, “CIA unsure whether Huang Le is a spy, but Rubio rewrote intelligence for senior officials in tougher language,” was first published by BlockTempo (the most influential blockchain news media outlet).