Campaign Fund Probe Figure Trie Surrenders

Yah Lin “Charlie” Trie, a central figure in the federal investigation of campaign financing irregularities, surrendered to FBI agents Tuesday after flying back to the United States under an agreement with federal investigators.

Trie, 49, a longtime friend of President Clinton and a major Democratic fund-raiser, was indicted last Wednesday by a federal grand jury on 15 charges of mail and wire fraud, conspiracy, election-law violations and obstruction of justice involving more than $600,000 he raised for the Democratic National Committee.

Beyond his decision to surrender, the extent of any cooperation by Trie with the Justice Department’s campaign finance task force remains to be determined, a department source said. Investigators hope that Trie’s surrender will help them learn more about high-level officials’ possible knowledge of illicit donations in the 1996 presidential campaign.

The chairmen of the two congressional committees that have investigated the campaign fund-raising controversy characterized his arrest as the tip of the iceberg.

“I think there are many more who should be brought to justice,” said Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.), chairman of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee. “Hopefully, they’ll be able to use Charlie to lead to other people in the campaign finance scandal.”

“I can only assume that this will be the first of many such indictments and arrests,” said Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, whose investigation ended in December.

Trie, who fled the United States in 1996, had been spotted recently in Macau, a Portuguese enclave near Hong Kong, and he is understood to have flown to Washington from Paris, according to a law enforcement source.

The whereabouts of Yuan Pei “Antonio” Pan, 50, a Trie business associate and Taiwanese national who was indicted with him and who had operated in Southern California, could not be determined. But nothing in his case is “imminent,” a government source said.

After surrendering at Dulles International Airport in suburban Virginia, Trie was taken for an initial appearance before a federal magistrate in Alexandria, Va.

Flanked by two defense lawyers, Trie said nothing to Magistrate Judge Theresa Buchanan, who spent about 10 minutes reading the the entire 15-count indictment. Trie stood out, however, wearing a tan sport coat, dark slacks, a bright yellow shirt and an electric blue necktie.

Ordered to appear for arraignment Thursday before U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman in Washington, Trie was released on a $200,000 personal recognizance bond, secured by two pieces of property he owns in Little Rock, Ark.

Under the agreement that Trie’s lawyers, Jeff Gans and Bill Hassler, worked out with the Justice Department’s campaign finance task force over the weekend, Trie was required to surrender his passport and to limit his travel to the District of Columbia, Arkansas and Virginia Beach, Assistant U.S. Atty. Cathy Kahoe confirmed.

His Little Rock properties were not described in the proceedings. Trie first became acquainted with Clinton through the Little Rock restaurant he operated before following the president-elect to Washington in 1994 and setting up an international business consulting firm.

Trie and Pan were accused in the indictment, the first brought by the campaign finance task force, of raising illegal funds for the DNC through foreign sources and straw donors, both of which violate federal law.

The donations, most of which were later returned by the DNC, won Trie a position as trustee of the Democratic Party, which carried with it access to White House officials, invitations to White House events and membership on DNC committees.

The grand jury charged that Trie used his trustee status and his access to high government officials to promote his and Pan’s business interests.

In addition to charges of defrauding the DNC and the Federal Election Commission, and mail and wire fraud, Trie and Pan were accused of devising and carrying out a conspiracy from April 1994 to September 1996 to purchase “access to high-level government officials in the United States by contributing and soliciting contributions” to the DNC.

In overt acts that the grand jury cited as having furthered the alleged conspiracy, Trie attended 10 dinners, lunches or coffees with Clinton, including four at the White House. He also attended four events with Vice President Al Gore and arranged three White House tours with business associates and a photo with Clinton.

Burton said he would be interested in calling Trie before his committee’s fund-raising hearings if he could do so without interfering with the Justice Department’s prosecution.

Thompson repeated his arguments for the appointment of an independent counsel in the matter. He said there are inherent conflicts in the Justice Department’s investigation of a close friend of the president such as Trie.

Times staff writer Marc Lacey contributed to this story.