Nvidia Hires Ex-Prosecutor Joon Kim to Probe Jensen Huang Spy Scandal

Nvidia's board has hired Joon H. Kim, the former acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan who co-led the investigation that ended Andrew Cuomo's governorship, to run an independent probe into the Chinese spy scandal surrounding CEO Jensen Huang. The chipmaker announced the move on Tuesday, retaining the New York law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct the inquiry.

Kim joined Wachtell only last month, arriving from rival firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. His practice there covers internal investigations, crisis management, and white-collar criminal and regulatory defense, according to his online biography. He is now the face of one of the most sensitive corporate investigations in the semiconductor industry.

The stakes for Nvidia are considerable. The investigation must determine two things: whether Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence operation, and whether Nvidia's secrets or U.S. national security were compromised. The inquiry stems from an affair Huang has admitted to having with an alleged intelligence agent of the Chinese government. In a statement, Huang said he supports the investigation and will fully cooperate. That pledge says nothing about what the probe will find — and the board, not the CEO, will judge the outcome.

Who is Joon Kim?

Kim, the son of a diplomat, has practiced law since at least 1996. He became acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York in March 2017, after President Donald Trump fired his boss, Preet Bharara, during Trump's first term. His tenure running one of the most powerful prosecutor's offices in the country was brief — it ended in early 2018 — but it was crowded with headline cases.

Kim oversaw the trial of Turkish banker Mehmet Hakan Atilla, convicted of leading a scheme that Kim said "blew a billion-dollar hole in the Iran-sanctions regime." He was also in charge when former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner was sentenced to 21 months in prison for sharing sexually explicit messages with a minor.

His portfolio extended further:

• An investigation into corruption in college basketball that involved a senior Adidas executive.
• The federal tax-evasion prosecution of the rapper DMX.

The throughline is a prosecutor drawn to institutional failures, not just individual wrongdoing. That record is precisely what Nvidia's board is buying.

The Cuomo and FDIC precedents

Kim's biggest cases came after he left government. In March 2021, New York state Attorney General Letitia James named Kim and employment lawyer Anne L. Clark as lead investigators into sexual-harassment accusations against Cuomo, then the governor. Cuomo resigned that August — roughly five months later — though he denied the allegations and later ran unsuccessfully for New York City mayor.

The tensions of that investigation surfaced in the transcript of Cuomo's interview. "You've investigated me for six years," Cuomo told Kim, referring to corruption investigations federal prosecutors had handled while Kim was acting U.S. attorney. Cuomo added that he would "have to lose my mind" to do what he was accused of, the transcript showed.

A few years later, a special committee at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. hired Cleary to investigate sexual harassment and misconduct at the U.S. agency that insures bank deposits. A report Kim co-authored cited accounts from more than 500 people who reported sexual harassment, discrimination and other misconduct at the agency. "For far too long, the FDIC has failed to provide a workplace safe from sexual harassment, discrimination and other interpersonal misconduct," the report said.

The consequences were concrete. Then-FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg declared his intent to resign, though he stayed at the agency until January 2025. The FDIC also created an Office of Professional Conduct, which has disciplined at least eight employees for sexual harassment since January 2025, according to Reuters.

What does this mean for Nvidia?

Kim's record shows his investigations produce results that reshape institutions: one ended a governorship, another forced out a bank regulator. Nvidia shareholders should note that the probe into Huang lands as the company already faces the prospect of tougher export rules that would make it harder to sell chips to China. The investigation's findings will test whether the board's promise of independence holds — and whether the CEO's cooperation survives contact with the answers.