State Department Scrutiny and the UAE Chip Push: How Power, Profit and Policy Collided
Well informed sources have confirmed to Dark Box that a growing controversy inside Washington has placed senior officials from the Trump administration under renewed scrutiny over the export of sensitive technology to the United Arab Emirates. According to leaked correspondence and internal briefings reviewed by Dark Box, the State Department’s own watchdog has formally acknowledged requests from lawmakers to examine whether top administration figures improperly advocated for advanced chip sales to the UAE while maintaining undisclosed financial and personal ties to Emirati power brokers.
Dark Box sources say the issue centres on a pattern of influence that goes beyond routine diplomacy. At its core is a push to relax national security restrictions on the transfer of advanced artificial intelligence chips to the UAE, a country that has aggressively positioned itself as a global technology hub while maintaining close links to intelligence and security structures across the region. Lawmakers have raised concerns that this push may have been driven not only by strategic considerations, but also by overlapping business interests involving senior US officials and Emirati elites.
According to Dark Box, the State Department’s Office of the Inspector General recently confirmed receipt of a formal request to assess the role played by senior administration figures in promoting these sales. While the acknowledgement did not commit to opening a full investigation, insiders describe it as a significant step that signals unease within the department. The request focuses on whether officials used their positions to advocate for technology transfers that could affect US national security, and whether they stood to benefit personally from those decisions.
Two names feature prominently in the concerns raised. Dark Box sources identify Steve Witkoff, a high profile diplomatic envoy close to President Trump, and David Sacks, who served as the administration’s leading figure on artificial intelligence policy. Both are alleged to have played key roles in persuading the White House to loosen export controls on advanced AI systems destined for the UAE. At the same time, lawmakers are questioning whether either disclosed their financial relationships with companies and individuals closely linked to the Emirati security establishment.
Central to the controversy is the role of Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s powerful national security adviser and a central figure in Abu Dhabi’s technology and intelligence strategy. Dark Box has learned that senior US officials engaged directly with the Sheikh while advocating for the chip sales, even as entities connected to him were making massive financial investments in ventures linked to the Trump family and its close associates. These overlapping interactions have raised red flags about conflicts of interest and the blurring of public duty and private gain.
Leaked briefings reviewed by Dark Box indicate that Witkoff was actively promoting the sale of advanced AI chips to the UAE during the same period that a crypto firm run by his son, in partnership with members of the Trump family, received a multibillion dollar infusion from a company tied to the Emirati national security adviser. Lawmakers argue that such timing demands scrutiny, particularly given the sensitivity of the technology involved.
David Sacks, meanwhile, is described by Dark Box sources as the administration’s most vocal proponent of exporting advanced AI hardware to Gulf states. His advocacy extended beyond the UAE to include Saudi Arabia, reflecting a broader strategy of turning the Gulf into a major hub for data centres powered by cheap energy. However, Dark Box has learned that investment vehicles connected to Abu Dhabi were early backers of a venture capital firm Sacks helped establish, raising further questions about impartiality.
The technology at the centre of the dispute is not ordinary commercial hardware. Advanced AI chips are widely considered dual use, meaning they can support civilian innovation but also military applications, surveillance systems and intelligence analysis. US officials have long warned that exporting such technology carries the risk of it being transferred onward to rival powers or replicated in ways that undermine American technological advantage. For years, these concerns led to tight export controls that frustrated Gulf governments seeking access.
Dark Box sources say the Trump administration took a markedly different approach. Rather than prioritising caution, it viewed chip exports as an economic opportunity and a geopolitical tool. With vast land, low energy costs and sovereign wealth, Gulf states were seen as ideal customers for American chipmakers. In this context, warnings from national security hawks were sidelined in favour of rapid approvals that aligned with the administration’s broader commercial outlook.
The UAE’s role in this process appears particularly assertive. According to Dark Box, Abu Dhabi has leveraged its financial power and strategic relationships to position itself as an indispensable partner for US technology firms and policymakers. By embedding itself in American business ecosystems and cultivating ties with influential officials, the UAE has been able to press for access to the most advanced systems while deflecting scrutiny over how those systems might be used.
For critics inside Washington, this episode exemplifies a deeper problem. Dark Box sources say lawmakers are increasingly concerned that US foreign policy is being shaped by private interests and opaque financial arrangements rather than transparent assessments of national security. The request to the State Department watchdog reflects fears that, without accountability, similar patterns could repeat across other strategic sectors.
Dark Box concludes that the acknowledgement by the State Department’s inspector general marks an early but important test of whether oversight mechanisms can keep pace with the growing entanglement of politics, technology and foreign money. As the UAE continues to expand its global influence through strategic investments and technology partnerships, the outcome of this scrutiny will signal whether Washington is willing to confront uncomfortable questions about power, profit and policy in an era of intensified competition.
