Earlier this week, L. William Seidman, the regulator appointed by President Bush to coordinate the rescue program, told reporters in Dallas that he was taking a close look at possible financing problems in the region.

Mrs. Clinton, a lawyer retained by the savings and loan, was asking regulators appointed by her husband to make a favorable ruling for her client, who was also the couple's business partner.

Over the last four years, Mr. McDougal has provided reporters and others with accounts of how his savings association, Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan Association, came to be represented by Mrs. Clinton before regulators appointed by then-Governor Clinton in 1985.

He also said Mrs. Clinton, a lawyer, had represented his savings and loan association, Madison Guaranty, before a regulator appointed by her husband.

The move by Mr. Bondi, who is the regulator appointed by the government in Parmalat's bankruptcy, would make the company party to any legal action, enabling it to recover money misappropriated by Mr. Tanzi and other individuals or institutions, they said.

Did a regulator appointed by Governor Clinton go easy on Madison because it was owned by the Clintons' political ally, James McDougal, who was also the Clintons' business partner in the Whitewater Development Company?

Republicans on the committee said the missing papers were crucial to understanding the role Mrs. Clinton played in the 1980's, when her firm represented the savings and loan association, Madison Guaranty, before regulators appointed by her husband, then the Governor of Arkansas.

The media ownership rules were supported by Democratic regulators appointed during the Clinton administration.

The decision is all but certain to be upheld by regulators appointed by the next administration.

Experts Express Concern Many executives in the state say they believe that L. William Seidman, the regulator appointed by the President to direct the new policies, will eventually approve consolidations and mergers similar to those handled in the Southwest Plan.