THE WEEK DECEMBER 19-25

NATION

Clinton and the S&L Further questions surrounding the suicide last summer of deputy White House counsel Vincent Foster arose when it was disclosed that files containing information about the First Family's personal finances had been removed from his office before investigators had a chance to see them. The files contained documents related to the Clintons' investment in Whitewater Development Corp., a real estate company connected to a failed Arkansas savings and loan that is under investigation by the Justice Department. Senate Republican leader Bob Dole said the Senate Banking Committee should examine the S&L in question and its link to the Clintons. At week's end, the President instructed his personal attorney to hand the files over to the Justice Department.

Clinton and the Troopers Two Arkansas state troopers revived rumors about Clinton's pre-presidential private life by claiming they helped the then Governor carry on extramarital affairs when they served on his security detail in Little Rock. A third trooper swore in an affidavit that neither he nor his colleagues were offered federal jobs by Clinton in return for their silence, despite the claims of the two troopers. In an interview, the third trooper did say he and Clinton had discussed a job for one of the two troopers. White House aides, Hillary Rodham Clinton and the President all dismissed the allegations.

Inman's Zoe Baird Problem Still another problem for the Clinton Administration last week was the public admission that Defense Secretary-nominee Bobby Ray Inman failed to pay Social % Security taxes for his housekeeper. He made the $6,000 payment covering seven years of delinquency after being offered the Cabinet post.

And As for Rosty's Scandal House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Rostenkowski was beset with new questions about alleged improper financial dealings. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the Democrat's payroll included ghost employees who either did not work for him or had not done so in years. The wife of a Chicago alderman, for instance, reportedly received a salary for five years after quitting her job in 1987. Rostenkowski is already under investigation by a federal grand jury for allegedly trading free stamps for cash at the House Post Office and allegedly using campaign funds and his office account for cars and to rent space in a building owned by his family.

New Rules for Military Gays The guidelines that officially put into place the Pentagon's ''Don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue'' policy pertaining to gays in the military were announced. The rules will allow gay or lesbian soldiers to serve in the armed forces but only if they are not engaging in homosexual sex. Under the policy, a soldier seen at a gay bar, for example, would not be subject to investigation, but a soldier seen holding hands with a person of the same sex might be. Gay-rights activists argued that the regulations are so vague that officers will be able to enforce them in whatever way they see fit. The constitutionality of the policy is also in question, and outgoing Defense Secretary Les Aspin has said, ''We fully expect lawsuits on this.''