Who is Joon H Kim, the ex-Acting US attorney, investigating Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang?

Nvidia’s board has hired one of Wall Street’s best-known law firms and a former Manhattan federal prosecutor to examine whether its founder and chief executive was the target of a Chinese intelligence operation.

The hire comes as the company’s shares slide and pressure builds in Washington.

On Tuesday, the independent members of the Nvidia board said they had retained Joon H Kim, a former acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and his firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct a “thorough and independent investigation.”

The probe was first announced on Sunday when the board said it was starting an independent investigation in light of recent reporting that Huang had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort.

The board said a committee of independent directors, supported by outside counsel, would oversee the work. It said it had no reason to believe company secrets or national security had been compromised, and that it has confidence in Huang.

An Nvidia spokesperson also said Huang would not take part in choosing counsel and would keep running the company.

Who is Joon H Kim?

Kim is a 55-year-old white-collar defence and investigations lawyer. He was born in Los Angeles in 1971 and holds degrees from Stanford University and Harvard Law School. He clerked for Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum of the Southern District of New York.

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His career has moved back and forth between private practice and the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office. He joined Cleary Gottlieb as an associate in 1997, then served as an Assistant US Attorney in the Southern District from 2000 to 2006.

He became a Cleary partner in 2009 and returned to the US Attorney’s office in 2013 as chief counsel.

He rose to the top of the office in unusual circumstances. Kim served as Deputy US Attorney from July 2015 to March 2017. He then became acting US Attorney in March 2017, succeeding Preet Bharara, and served until January 2018.

He took over after US President Donald Trump fired Bharara. He was replaced in January 2018 because acting US attorneys face a 300-day limit.

Kim has said the office kept its independence during his tenure. He told Law.com in 2018 that the Southern District had “a lot of independence” and kept that level of independence.

Professional biographies describe him as an accomplished trial lawyer who personally tried more than a dozen federal jury trials and supervised dozens more, with his work spanning white-collar cases from securities fraud to corruption,

The Fyre Festival fraud prosecution was among his notable matters.

Why Wachtell Lipton?

Kim is new to his current firm. He joined Wachtell from rival Cleary Gottlieb, a Wachtell spokesperson said, after returning to Cleary in 2018 from the US attorney’s office. Law360 reported that he joined Wachtell earlier this month.

Wachtell described him as a top litigator and corporate adviser who would strengthen its practice.

Wachtell is among the most prestigious firms on Wall Street, and the board has retained Kim as a Wachtell partner whose practice includes internal investigations and white-collar defence.

For a company whose market value is measured in trillions of dollars, the choice signals that the board wants the review to look credible to regulators, lawmakers and investors.

What allegations Huang faces

Huang was allegedly targeted in a Chinese espionage plot centred on Alice Huang, a top executive at Singapore-based data company Megaspeed.

Reports have said US intelligence officials concluded she was funnelling information to Beijing and had developed a “close relationship” with Huang. She is not related to him.

The allegations have not been publicly established through the company’s investigation. An Nvidia spokesperson said at the time that Huang’s interactions with Alice Huang were not unusual or unexpected and were part of his job.

China has rejected the claims. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun called the “Chinese spy” narrative a groundless accusation, slander and a smear.

On Sunday, Huang addressed the matter in an internal message to staff. He said he had been “unfaithful” to his wife, and wrote that his actions hurt her and their children. The message did not name Alice Huang or anyone else.

He added, “There is no excuse for what I did,” and said he supports the investigation and will cooperate fully. In the same memo he asked for privacy for his relatives. He wrote that his family bears no responsibility for his choices.

The affair is only one thread. Megaspeed is also a major Nvidia customer. According to the New York Times, it bought more than $4.8 billion worth of Nvidia chips over the past two years.

What Washington is saying

US President Donald Trump has defended Huang. Asked whether he should have acted on intelligence when he was briefed, Trump said he did not think so and called Huang an honourable guy.

The New York Times reported that US officials told Trump in October 2025 that Alice Huang had a relationship with Huang and was presumed to be a spy.

On Monday, Trump said federal investigators were also involved. He told reporters the FBI is looking into it “in terms of something else,” and said he believed Huang would be in good shape.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are pressing separately. The three chairmen asked Huang to brief their committees on November 18, 2026, and said he must accept or offer alternative dates by November 11.

The signatories were Brian Mast of Foreign Affairs, John Moolenaar of the Select Committee on the CCP, and Rick Crawford of Intelligence.

Democrats are also involved. Rep Seth Magaziner, a Rhode Island Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee, called for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify alongside Huang.

What next

Legal exposure is also growing. A shareholder filed a proposed class action in California on Monday accusing Nvidia and Huang of misleading investors in their disclosure. The case is at an early stage and the allegations are unproven.

The structure of the board running the probe has also drawn scrutiny. Nvidia has no board chair and no chief compliance officer.

The Financial Times reported that the inquiry would probably have been led by lead independent director Stephen Neal, who ran the law firm Cooley from 2001 to 2008 and remains its senior counsel. Cooley set up Nvidia in 1993 and has been its main outside counsel since.

Nvidia reports third-quarter results on November 17, and the requested congressional briefing falls the next day. Management will therefore face analysts’ questions about China exposure and leadership before it is clear whether Huang will appear before the committees.

Investors will also watch for any sign of how long the Wachtell review could run, since a prolonged inquiry could delay investment decisions or product launches.

With inputs from agencies