A prep course for the month-long World Cup soccer tournament, a worldwide pheno

rview that he `` talked her into '' her first futures trade in October 1978 befo

re paperwork on her account was completed . It was liquidated quickly , he recal

led , because `` it was bigger than she wanted and required more money . '' A cl

ose examination of her individual trades underscores Blair 's pivotal role . It 

also shows that Bone , who ran Refco 's Springdale , Ark. , office , allowed Cli

nton to initiate and maintain many trading positions besides the first when she 

did not have enough money in her account to cover them . Why would Bone do so ? 

Bone could not be reached for comment , but Blair said he thought he knew why . 

`` I was a very good customer , '' he said , noting he paid Bone $ 800,000 in co

mmissions over the years . `` They weren't going to hassle me . If I brought the

m somebody , they weren't going to hassle them . '' Besides , he added , Bone wo

uld not worry if he agreed with his clients ' bet on which way the price of a gi

ven contract would go . Blair , who was outside counsel to Tyson Foods Inc. , Ar

kansas ' largest employer , at the time , says he was advising Clinton out of fr

iendship , not to seek political gain for his state-regulated client . At the ti

me of the trades , Bill Clinton was governor . Hillary Clinton has said she made

 all the trading decisions herself and has tried to play down Blair 's role . Bu

t she acknowledged in April , three weeks after her trades were first disclosed 

, that Blair actually placed most of the trades . Blair advised Clinton again on

 July 17 , 1979 . He recalled that she started that trading day by losing $ 26,4

60 on 10 cattle contracts she had held for more than a month , by far her worst 

loss as a futures player . On his recommendation , he said , she immediately wen

t back into the market . She acquired 50 new cattle contracts worth $ 1.4 millio

n and when the price moved in her favor , unloaded them around noon for a quick 

gain of $ 10,550 . This recouped part of her loss . Blair said Clinton and other

 friends he suggested trades for had lost money that spring on feeder cattle . T

hose trades `` caused everyone some grief , '' he said . `` I 'm sure I was pres

sing to get everyone back above water '' in recommending the quick and bold day 

trade . The White House defense of Hillary Clinton 's preferential treatment was

 that other customers in the same office also were allowed to trade without havi

ng enough cash in their accounts . It was akin to a poker game where some of the

 players did not have to pay the ante up money . While Clinton 's account was wi

ldly successful to an outsider , it was small compared to what others were makin

g in the cattle futures market in the 1978-79 period . An investigation of the c

attle futures market at that time by Rep. Neal Smith , D-Iowa , found that in on

e 16-month period 32 traders made more than $ 110 million in profits from large 

trades those of 50 contracts or more . Clinton traded positions of 50 or more co

ntracts only three times . The records the White House released Thursday were pa

rt of an investigative file from 1979 , when the exchange charged Bone and Refco

 with violations of its record keeping and margin requirement rules . Bone was s

uspended for three years ; Refco paid a $ 250,000 fine , then the largest in the

 exchange 's history . Internal memoes from that investigation cover transaction

s from the same period in June that Clinton was trading , but not the same trade

s . In one instance , the Merc found Bone and a fellow broker were ordering 1,00

0 cattle contracts at a time far over the limit allowed at the time and then all

ocating them to other customers . One internal Merc memo said `` there is reason

 to believe '' that a majority of Bone 's accounts were traded without the clien

ts ' permission . Blair said that Bone at times traded his personal account with

out permission . `` If your back was turned and the market was dull he was capab

le of sprinkling around stuff , including in my account , '' he said . Blair sai

d he doubted Bone traded Clinton 's account without her permission . `` He didn'

t have the level of comfort screwing around with others as he did with my accoun

t . '' Blair said Clinton 's trades paralleled his own . She `` was never a tota

l risk taker , '' he said . At times though , Clinton took what seemed to be eno

rmously risky trading positions for someone whose salary as a lawyer at the time

 was $ 24,250 . For example , after trading five or 10 cattle contracts at a tim

e in October and November 1978 , she suddenly took a 60-contract order in Decemb

er . This was a high-stakes gamble in which she could make or lose up to $ 36,00

0 a day . Blair recalled the position was liquidated quickly `` because she woul

dn't have had the money to hold it very long . '' He was right . She had about $

 6,000 in her account at the time-instead of the required $ 72,000 . She liquida

ted that position the next day , making a $ 7,250 profit overnight , before payi

ng commissions . In a news conference last month , Clinton told reporters she qu

it trading at Refco in July 1979 . `` I just couldn't bear the risk anymore . ''

 MEXICO CITY Mexican officials Thursday denied claims by the relatives of Mario 

Aburto Martinez , the man accused of killing presidential candidate Luis Donaldo

 Colosio , that they have been persecuted or prevented from testifying in the ca

se . A statement from the attorney general 's office contradicted the claims of 

six Aburto family members who asked for political asylum in the United States ea

rlier this week . The family has since dropped their asylum request and are seek

ing permission to stay in the United States temporarily , lawyers said . Meanwhi

le , a source close to the murder investigation denied that Ruben Aburto , the s

uspect 's father , has any pending arrest warrants that would prevent him from r

eturning to Mexico to tell police what he knows . Investigators would even be wi

lling go to Los Angeles , where the elder Aburto lives , to take his statement ,

 the source said . The father has said that , before the shooting , his son met 

with a federal security agent who was arrested at the scene and later released .

 The accusation hints at a government plot to kill Colosio , the candidate of th

e ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party who was almost certain to be elected 

president . Aburto 's U.S. lawyer said he has not told Mexican authorities about

 his son 's meeting because he is wanted in Mexico for the 1967 murders of two m

en . He said he would not return to Mexico unless he received a guarantee of imm

unity from prosecution in that case . That arrest warrant was suspended in 1981 

, the source said . ( Optional add end ) Other relatives of Aburto have been que

stioned , but no arrest warrants have been issued for them , according to the at

torney general 's statement . `` Mexican officials are not pursuing , pressuring

 or harassing these people , and they may return to the country with no fear for

 their freedom , '' the statement said . Aburto 's mother , brother sisters and 

other relatives walked across the U.S.-Mexico border Sunday . The six told U.S. 

. Immigration agents they feared for their lives because of harassment by Mexica

n authorities since Aburto 's arrest immediately after the March 23 assassinatio

n .

 WASHINGTON Faced with a painful choice between accepting a plea bargain on felo

ny charges or fighting them in a costly trial , an anguished Rep. Dan Rostenkows

ki , D-Ill. , isolated himself Thursday as he weighed a decision that seemed lik

ely to end his congressional career . The well-known and occasionally feared `` 

Rosty '' rebuffed questioners and stayed away from most colleagues , holing up i

n an office reserved for him as chairman of the powerful Ways and Means committe

e . Sources familiar with the extended talks between U.S. . Attorney Eric Holder

 Jr. and Rostenkowski 's lawyer , Robert S. Bennett , said they did not expect t

he issue to be resolved until next week . While Holder is pressing for a decisio

n by Tuesday the date for the next meeting of a federal grand jury considering e

vidence in the two-year investigation the sources said the deadline could slip i

f a plea agreement was in sight . Early in the day , an aide vehemently denied b

roadcast reports that Rostenkowski had decided to reject all attempts by his law

yers to negotiate a plea bargain that would require him to admit guilt , serve t

ime in prison and resign from Congress . `` No decision has been made , '' the s

pokesman insisted as reporters kept close watch whenever Rostenkowski darted out

 to vote on the House floor . Rep. William O . Lipinski , D-Ill. , a Chicago col

league , was one of the few visitors admitted to Rostenkowski 's inner sanctum .

 If the gruff-talking Chicago Democrat balks at a plea agreement , however , it 

was widely expected that he would be indicted on multiple felony charges that wo

uld remove him automatically from the chairmanship of Ways and Means , under rul

es of the Democratic caucus . Longtime associates said Rostenkowski would resign

 his seat in the House if he even temporarily lost the influential post . On the

 other hand , a plea bargain almost certainly would either require Rostenkowski 

to resign from the House altogether , or create a political backlash that would 

force him out of office . ( Optional add end ) While it was impossible to forete

ll the outcome , it was clear that Rostenkowski would not be rushed . `` Did you

 ever know him to make an important decision without going to the deadline and f

ive minutes beyond that ? '' asked one Rostenkowski aide . At issue in the plea 

bargain talks is the precise wording of the crime or crimes for which Rostenkows

ki would have to acknowledge guilt . Under the law , this language would affect 

the amount of prison time under federal sentencing guidelines . As Congress depa

rted on a Memorial Day break , tourists began snapping pictures of the door to t

he Ways and Means office , which bears a sign saying : `` Mr. Rostenkowski. '' A

 young congressional aide conducting a guided tour told a group of visitors : ``

 You might be some of the last to see that name on the door . ''

 WASHINGTON A senior White House official was forced to resign Thursday after he

 and a colleague took the presidential helicopter , Marine One , from Washington

 to a private country club near Camp David , Md. , for an afternoon golf game Tu

esday . David Watkins , director of the White House Office of Administration and

 one of the Arkansas friends President Clinton brought with him to Washington , 

submitted his resignation after his outing with Alphonso Maldon Jr. , director o

f the White House Military Office , became public . A picture of the White House

 officials was published Wednesday in the Frederick ( Md. ) News-Post , making t

he quiet trip a public embarrassment . Clinton announced the resignation when as

ked about the trip at a White House news conference Thursday afternoon . He said

 he knew nothing of the trip , which the press office Thursday morning had descr

ibed as a routine effort to check out the course for Clinton 's later use . The 

president said taxpayers would be reimbursed the cost of the helicopter trip , f

rom Washington to New Market , Md. , and back . If previous Pentagon estimates o

f the cost of military helicopter use hold true , that could be about $ 10,000 .

 Clinton said he was `` very upset '' when he heard about the trip , and officia

ls said Watkins had virtually no defenders in the White House . Last year , he h

ad been disciplined for his role in the firing of the seven employes in the trav

el office . The White House Thursday night said Maldon , a political appointee ,

 `` has been reprimanded and will be reassigned , '' probably outside the White 

House . The White House Wednesday night and Thursday morning put out what offici

als now realize was a cover story for the trip . It asserted that Watkins and Ma

ldon were checking out the course for security and other reasons in advance of a

 possible presidential trip . A statement drafted by the White House military of

fice and released to reporters by the country club and used by White House spoke

sman Arthur Jones described the helicopter trip as a `` training mission '' to f

amiliarize the crew with the layout of the course , which is an hour away by car

 . The subsequent golf game by Watkins and Maldon , the statement said , was con

ducted `` in order to familiarize themselves with all aspects of the course , es

pecially those aspects related to actual time of play and associated impact of s

ecurity plans . '' But , as White House officials later acknowledged , neither W

atkins nor Maldon have job duties involving checking out sites for presidential 

security and White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers said the president has no

 plans to play the course . Clinton generally travels by motorcade on his freque

nt golf outings rather than by military helicopter , which costs between $ 5,000

 and $ 8,000 an hour to operate . There are at least three of the white-top heli

copters in the presidential fleet ; whichever one the president is in is designa

ted Marine One . The helicopter has been so sacrosanct in previous administratio

ns that highest-ranking officials requesting to use it , such as former chief of

 staff Donald Regan to visit Ronald Reagan in the hospital , have been turned do

wn . The use is controlled by the military office , under rules established by t

he White House . Myers said Clinton `` was very concerned when he learned about 

this '' and had directed Chief of Staff Thomas F. `` Mack '' McLarty to investig

ate the matter . Officials said McLarty and others began looking into the issue 

Wednesday night , and Watkins was , as one official put it , `` made aware by Th

ursday morning his resignation would be in order . ' `` The explanation was basi

cally that they were checking out the golf course for the president in case he w

anted to play on that course , '' a senior administration official said . McLart

y and Watkins , the official said , `` quickly came to an agreement that Watkins

 couldn't effectively continue in his role and Mack agreed to accept his resigna

tion . '' The official called it `` a pretty serious error in judgment taking of

f in the middle of a work week , taking a military helicopter , playing 18 holes

 of golf , and taking a military helicopter back to the White House when you 've

 got a golf course that 's an hour 's drive away . '' The Tuesday trip by Watkin

s , who like the president and McLarty is a native of Hope , Ark. , and Maldon w

as captured on film by Skip Lawrence , a photographer for the News-Post . They i

nvited the Holly Hills club pro and the commanding naval officer at Camp David t

o complete the foursome . Maryland Republican Rep. Roscoe Bartlett saw the photo

 in his local paper and issued an outraged press release , photo attached . Reca

lling the uproar when Bush administration Chief of Staff John H. Sununu used gov

ernment planes for private business , Bartlett asked , `` Was it really necessar

y for your staff to play a course to determine if it was suitable for a presiden

tial visit ? '' The president issued an executive order early in his term bannin

g use of White House aircraft unless necessary for official duties . `` The taxp

ayers should pay no more than absolutely necessary to transport government offic

ials , '' the order states . Watkins , 52 , is a veteran of Clinton 's political

 campaigns and a former Little Rock advertising executive , and he and Hillary R

odham Clinton are former business partners . They were in a lucrative cellular-t

elephone partnership in Arkansas in 1983 in which Hillary Clinton made $ 48,000 

from a $ 2,000 investment . Watkins is now charged with overseeing the White Hou

se administrative structure . The White House review of the travel-office firing

s concluded Watkins was `` insensitive '' to the implications of revealing that 

the FBI was investigating the employees . The report questioned his judgment in 

ordering a review of the office by a woman who had expressed interest in running

 the office , and said he failed to consider the implications of summarily firin

g the employees .

 WASHINGTON A broad new federal ban on the use of force or threats to stop abort

ions ran immediately into constitutional challenges in two courts Thursday just 

after President Clinton 's signature made it a law . Although the law to protect

 abortion clinics , their patients and staffs took effect immediately , abortion

 foes asked judges here and in Alexandria , Va. , to prohibit the government fro

m enforcing it . The challengers contended that the law will curb their free spe

ech rights , and stop them from expressing their religious opposition to abortio

n even by peaceful gestures like praying and verbally urging women entering clin

ics not to have abortion . The challengers asked for a hearing in the Alexandria

 case a week from Friday . That case is expected to move more rapidly than the o

ne filed in a federal court here , since the Alexandria court is known for what 

lawyers and staff call its `` rocket docket . '' Delays are seldom tolerated . E

ven if the Justice Department does get temporary clearance to enforce the new cr

iminal law , it is expected to be tied up in court battles for several months , 

and perhaps longer . Both sides expect the constitutional dispute to go eventual

ly to the Supreme Court . In a few weeks , the court may give some guidance on t

he scope of clinic protesters ' free speech rights , in a pending case from Melb

ourne , Fla. . Clinton , surrounded at a White House ceremony at midday Thursday

 by abortion rights leaders and congressional sponsors of the new law , used the

 occasion to urge Americans to talk out their differences on abortion and to sto

p violence around clinics . `` There is so much .. . we could be doing together 

to defuse the intense anger and animosity and to listen to one another , '' the 

president said . Among those in the audience were the two children of the late D

r. David Gunn , who was murdered by an abortion foe outside a Pensacola , Fla. ,

 clinic 14 months ago an incident that added pressure on Congress to pass the ne

w law . The law , the strongest action taken by Congress to protect women seekin

g abortions and clinic staff members , provides criminal penalties up to a maxim

um of three years in prison and a $ 250,000 fine . If someone is killed in an an

ti-abortion activity , the sentence can be life in prison . The law also allows 

clinics to sue for unlimited civil damages when they or their patients or staff 

members have been harmed , threatened or intimidated . Those who drafted the law

 in Congress , and abortion rights groups , have argued that the measure was wri

tten carefully to reach only violent actions . Clinton stressed that point in si

gning it , saying that it would serve only `` to eliminate violence and coercion

 . '' The president argued : `` It is not a strike against the First Amendment .

 '' ( Optional add end ) That point , however , was disputed directly in the leg

al claims made in the two new lawsuits . In the case in U.S. . District Court he

re , papers filed by Atlanta lawyer Jay Alan Sekulow said that abortion foes `` 

are fearful '' that the law could lead to prosecution and heavy punishment for s

uch protest activities as staging sit-ins , passing out pictures of aborted fetu

ses , preaching , picketing and `` sidewalk counseling '' of patients on the way

 to get abortions . Suing in that case were Randall A . Terry of Harpersville , 

N.Y. , who heads Operation Rescue , one of the nation 's most militant anti-abor

tion groups , along with five other individuals who said they have been active i

n trying to stop women from having abortions . In the case in U.S. . District Co

urt in Alexandria , Washington lawyer Marion Edwyn Harrison said in court papers

 that the new law will criminalize `` activities substantially identical in form

 and substance to the civil rights ` freedom rides ' and ` sit-ins ' of the 1960

s , and to the nonviolent protest tactics '' of Gandhi , the hero of India 's na

tional independence . The only difference , that lawsuit claimed , is that the a

ctivities now being turned into crimes are those carried out by `` persons who o

ppose abortion . '' That lawsuit was filed by the American Life League , an anti

-abortion group based in Stafford , Va. , by a Stafford Catholic priest and thre

e other Virginia opponents of abortion . Both lawsuits were aimed directly at At

torney General Janet Reno , who lobbied Congress hard for the new measure and wh

o has vowed strong enforcement of it by her aides in the Justice Department . Re

no said at Wednesday 's bill-signing ceremony that the killing of Gunn last year

 in Florida `` focused for me and focused the attention of the nation on the pro

blem of violent attacks against abortion providers , vandalism at abortion clini

cs , and the efforts by some to prevent women from exercising their constitution

al right to choose to have an abortion . '' Vice President Al Gore praised the b

ill as a `` freedom of access '' measure . Clinton , in his remarks , said that 

`` with this legislation , we will have a law with teeth to deal with those who 

take part in unlawful activities , who put themselves above and beyond the law .

 '' He said there was `` a trend running in this country '' of people taking the

 law into their own hands to `` wreak violence .. . and verbal extremism . '' Di

stributed by the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service .

 WASHINGTON President Clinton 's decision Thursday to move human rights to the m

argins of American dealings with China underlines the administration 's cold cal

culation that emphasis on rights had gotten in the way of other priorities . In 

eliminating his threat to revoke China 's trade privileges over human rights abu