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Kim’s record includes investigations of Cuomo and the FDIC. Former colleagues defend his independence, while a former investigative subject’s spokesman challenges it.
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Nvidia’s choice gives its promised inquiry a named lead investigator and outside law firm, but not an answer to the underlying allegations: U.S. intelligence suspicion that Alice Huang spied for China remains unproven, and findings are pending. Kim’s prior Cuomo and FDIC reviews—both involving extensive interviews and written findings—offer a concrete basis for assessing the investigation’s thoroughness. Criticism of his Cuomo work also means the inquiry’s independence may face scrutiny.
Nvidia disclosed the engagement on November 10; CNBC’s profile of Kim ran November 12.
For the Cuomo inquiry, Kim’s team interviewed 179 witnesses and produced a 165-page report; Cuomo disputed some of its characterizations and denied some allegations.
The FDIC review included 167 interviews with current and former employees, plus hundreds more with hotline contacts, and found long-standing workplace failures.
Nvidia has hired former federal prosecutor Joon Kim and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to deliver its promised independent investigation into allegations that Jensen Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence effort. The appointment puts a lawyer whose record includes investigations of Andrew Cuomo and the FDIC on the sensitive assignment.
Nvidia disclosed the engagement on Tuesday, November 10, according to CNBC’s November 12 profile of Kim. The assignment concerns allegations involving Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang, whom U.S. intelligence suspects of being a spy for China, CNBC reported. That suspicion is not a conclusion from Kim’s investigation.
Kim served seven years as an assistant U.S. attorney in Manhattan, including four in the Organized Crime and Terrorism Unit. His prosecution work covered offenses including racketeering, money laundering, securities fraud and terrorism. He later served as acting U.S. attorney from 2017 to 2018.
Friend and former colleague Chris Conniff told CNBC that Kim was a tenacious advocate and thorough investigator. He rejected the suggestion that the Nvidia inquiry would be a whitewash serving the board’s interests.
In March 2021, New York Attorney General Letitia James selected Kim and attorney Anne Clark to investigate sexual-harassment allegations against then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Their team interviewed 179 witnesses and reviewed tens of thousands of documents before delivering a 165-page report that August.
The report concluded that Cuomo had sexually harassed at least 11 women and retaliated against a former employee who complained publicly. Cuomo denied some allegations and said others had been mischaracterized or misinterpreted. He announced his resignation a week after the report became public.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. retained Kim two years later to review allegations of sexual harassment and other workplace misconduct. His team conducted 167 interviews with current and former employees, plus hundreds more with hotline contacts. Its April 2024 report found that the agency had long failed to provide a workplace safe from harassment, discrimination and other interpersonal misconduct.
Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi told CNBC that the Cuomo investigation had a predetermined outcome. He questioned Nvidia’s board’s motives in selecting Kim, while acknowledging he did not know its aims. Wachtell’s spokeswoman declined to comment to CNBC on behalf of both the firm and Kim.
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