Nvidia founder Jensen Huang faces a fresh probe after a New York Times report linked his affair with a Chinese businesswoman to a possible spy plot. The paper said the relationship, which ended in an admission of an extramarital affair, involved Alice Huang, a publicly reported Chinese intelligence asset.
Journalist’s Source Fight Tests Privacy Act Limits
Journalist Catherine Herridge’s fight to protect her source now hinges on a Supreme Court petition. In 2018, former UMT employee Yanping Chen sued the FBI, DOJ, DoD and DHS, claiming federal agents leaked her immigration records to Fox News.
Herridge’s reporting, based on a search‑warrant affidavit and an informant, revealed Chen’s alleged PLA colonel ties and the university’s receipt of $250‑300 k monthly tuition aid from the DoD.
Chen subpoenaed Herridge to prove intentional disclosure, but a district court ordered her deposition and held her in contempt, imposing a $800‑per‑day fine that the D.C. Circuit later upheld.
The Supreme Court has yet to rule; Herridge’s petition argues that journalist privilege has not been addressed in a civil case for over fifty years.
Senators Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and Cynthia Lummis filed an amicus brief, warning that forced source disclosure will chill whistleblowers and undermine congressional oversight of the executive branch.
The Nvidia affair, which the Times said involved a Chinese intelligence asset funneling data to Beijing, has already prompted Nvidia and two House committees to open investigations.
If the Privacy Act were applied to a non‑citizen like Alice Huang, the law’s citizen‑only protection would block a suit, making legal action unlikely.
The case underscores that confidential sources remain essential for national security reporting, and any erosion of that protection threatens both journalism and oversight.
