Don’t look now, but Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is about to be back in the hot seat.
asserted
Warsh → look → seat
With inflation numbers coming in hotter than expected yesterday, the Fed is surer than ever that it will need to authorize more rate hikes in the weeks ahead—an unfortunate prospect for Warsh, whom Trump installed with an explicit command to slash rates and let the economy run hot.
asserted
economy → come → rates
Some analysts now expect the Fed to hike rates at their next three meetings.
asserted
Fed → expect → meetings
Whether Trump’s patience with Warsh can last that long remains to be seen.
asserted
last → last → Warsh
The Chips Are Falling Into China’s Lap
by William Kristol
asserted
Chips → fall → Kristol
Many scandals simmer.
asserted
scandals → simmer → ?
Some reach a slow boil.
asserted
Some → reach → boil
A few explode.
asserted
few → explode → ?
The China Chips scandal is exploding.
asserted
scandal → explode → ?
Let’s take a quick look at what we’ve learned, or what’s been confirmed, in just the past couple of days. (
asserted
what → let → days
And I’ll note that all of this is before any congressional investigations have begun, before there’s been sworn testimony from administration officials and others, before further other investigations into Nvidia and other actors, before lawsuits, before the deluge of leaks we’re likely to get from people within the Trump administration.
asserted
we → note → administration
Donald Trump knew.
asserted
Trump → know → ?
The New York Times reported yesterday that President Trump was told directly by Marco Rubio aboard Air Force One en route to China in May that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was in a relationship with a Chinese spy.
uncertain
Huang → report → spy
“It marked at least the second time in seven months that the president had been told of intelligence about Mr. Huang’s involvement with the woman.”
asserted
president → mark → woman
So for the last six months at least, Trump has been palling around with Huang, praising Huang, presumably sharing information and thoughts with Huang, and taking counsel and advice from Huang, all the while knowing it was very possible that everything he said was being passed on to the government of China and much of what he was hearing had been shaped by the government China.
Jensen Huang lied.
The Times report also reminds us that in response to earlier reports that Alice Huang was a Chinese intelligence asset and in a relationship with Jensen Huang,
Nvidia executives and Mr. Huang both insisted that the relationship was a routine engagement with a customer.
asserted
relationship → pal → customer
On Sunday, Mr. Huang admitted to a romantic relationship with Ms. Huang.
asserted
Huang → admit → Huang
Soon after, Nvidia announced that the company would conduct an independent investigation.
asserted
company → announce → investigation
So Huang lied to others in the company, and the company dutifully lied to the rest of us.
asserted
company → lie → us
And there are some indications we’ll discover much more lying about various business matters and corporate relationships, not just personal ones.
asserted
we → be → matters
Howard Lutnick obstructed.
asserted
Lutnick → obstruct → ?
Politico reports that officials in the Bureau of Industry and Security, the office that oversees tech exports, had warned in dozens of reports of the risk of Nvidia’s advanced chips being diverted to China.
asserted
chips → report → China
But the higher-ups in the Commerce Department, run by Trump’s buddy and business partner Howard Lutnick, chose not to impose meaningful new restrictions on the company.
asserted
ups → run → company
And the Financial Times reported yesterday that several U.S. government agencies pushed for Alice Huang’s company, Megaspeed, to be included on the so-called entity list of groups connected to China that posed national security risks.
asserted
that → report → risks
But again, the Commerce Department refused to act.
asserted
Department → refuse → ?
The FT quotes Chris McGuire, a former senior U.S. government export controls official: “It is mind-boggling that [Commerce] knew months ago that Megaspeed is being run by a Chinese spy but did nothing to stop them from buying $4.8 billion worth of Nvidia chips.
asserted
Megaspeed → quote → chips
The Trump administration is stonewalling.
asserted
administration → stonewall → ?
As the FT dryly reports,
The Pentagon referred questions to the commerce department, which said it did not comment on internal discussions about the entity list.
asserted
it → report → list
The energy department referred questions to the White House, which declined to comment.
asserted
which → refer → House
The Treasury department declined to comment.
asserted
department → decline → ?
The state department did not respond to a request for comment.
asserted
department → respond → comment
Congress may actually do its job.
uncertain
Congress → do → job
Lawmakers in both parties and chambers have promised investigations and demanded information.
asserted
Lawmakers → promise → information
And Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) took to the floor of the Senate yesterday to call attention to the scandal:
asserted
Schumer → take → scandal
Trump was briefed more than a year ago that Nvidia’s CEO was having an affair with a suspected Chinese spy, and Trump didn’t do anything—anything—about it.
asserted
Trump → brief → it
He’s supposed to protect America, not China, not his friends.
asserted
He → suppose → America
Trump has been busy trying to defend Jensen Huang when he ought to be defending our national security.
asserted
he → try → security
So far as I can tell, no member of Congress from either party has rushed out to defend Trump, or to assert that all is well with the Trump administration, Nvidia, and China.
asserted
all → tell → administration
Scandals develop in unpredictable ways.
asserted
Scandals → develop → ways
But with sex, lies, and money, with a corrupt president and wannabe unaccountable tech oligarch overlords, with damage to our national security and help for our main adversary, I suspect this scandal will be—and deserves to be—one for the history books.
asserted
scandal → suspect → books
AROUND THE BULWARK
What Veterans Day Taught Me…
asserted
Day → teach → Me
…and 36 more, not listed.
The Aporia
