5 Granted Immunity in Donor Probe

Turning aside Justice Department objections, the Senate committee probing campaign fund-raising abuses voted Wednesday to grant immunity to five women, including four Buddhist nuns involved in a controversial Southern California event.

The committee action climaxed weeks of behind-the-scenes and public sparring over whether to give the women immunity in exchange for their testimony later this summer.

In urging the grant of immunity, Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, said the early testimony of such relatively minor figures in the fund-raising scandal would increase “the chances of getting higher-ups” later on.

Thompson and other committee members want to hear testimony from the four nuns with knowledge of fund-raising abuses at the Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights. They are expected to testify in September.

Temple officials have told reporters and investigators that the temple reimbursed about a dozen nuns and temple devotees for their contributions to the Democratic National Committee. Federal law prohibits such reimbursement and requires the disclosure of the true source of funds.

The 1996 fund-raising luncheon was organized by Maria L. Hsia, a temple consultant, and John Huang, a Democratic fund-raiser who is a central figure in the congressional investigation into whether campaign donations came from foreign sources, which is illegal.

The DNC has returned nearly half the $140,000 raised at the affair, which was attended by Vice President Al Gore.

The committee had wrestled with whether giving the women immunity would undermine the Justice Department’s criminal investigation into campaign finance abuses.

“The committee has decided to give priority to testimony over prosecutions,” said Justice Department spokesman Bert Brandenburg. “The department has for decades opposed immunity that can harm prosecution.”

Asked whether the department wanted to prosecute any of the women, Brandenburg said it was “possible.”

Justice Department officials can delay the formal granting of immunity for up to 30 days.

Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.), who favored immunity for other witnesses, shared the department’s view regarding the five women. Lieberman said immunity could frustrate potential criminal cases against them or prosecutors’ ability to use information from them to pursue “those who are higher up in this chain.”

The Buddhist nuns are temple administrator Man Ho, temple treasurer Yi Chu, abbess Suh Jen Wu and another nun, Man Ya Shih, who is associated with a temple in Richardson, Texas.

Brian Sun, the temple’s Santa Monica attorney, said the temple was “extremely pleased” by the committee’s 15-1 vote for immunity. “We will cooperate fully with the Senate, and look forward to the Department of Justice reaching the same conclusion,” Sun said.

The committee also voted 13-3 to give immunity to Keshi Zahn, who in 1996 gave the Democrats more than $20,000, which records show was most of her annual salary. Zahn, a Virginia friend of controversial fund-raiser Yah Lin “Charlie” Trie, donated money passed to her from others, according to investigators.

Times staff writers Ronald J. Ostrow in Washington and William Rempel in Los Angeles contributed to this story.