Word: libya
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...although his judgment in choosing friends and business associates may remain open to question, he performed rather well in responding to the Senate panel's two main lines of questioning: 1) Had he used his position as the President's brother to influence U.S. policy toward Libya, a radical country with which Washington maintains subzero relations? 2) What were the details involving the $220,000 that he had received from a Libyan bank? In nine hours of testimony over two days, the Senators learned little that was new about either matter. Billy confirmed that he had visited Libya...
Throughout the testimony, Billy insisted that there was nothing wrong with these transactions. He conceded that he probably "had been invited [to Libya] because I was the brother of the President," but he maintained that he made it very clear to his hosts that he "had absolutely no influence" on U.S. policies. To show how pointless any such effort would have been, Billy told the Senators that "when Jimmy was Governor of Georgia," the state "repaved the streets of Plains with one exception - the small portion of street in front of my house...
...from Libya, Billy insisted that it was simply an advance on a $500,000 loan. Senators greeted this claim with understandable skepticism, especially since no loan papers were signed and there was no documentary evidence of collateral...
Billy is also resentful of the negative publicity about his ties with Libya. He said that this made it impossible for him to continue the kind of public appearances that paid him as much as $500,000 a year in gross earnings. He told the Senators: "I was angry and bitter. My means of livelihood had vanished." As a result, he explained, "by the middle of February 1979, I began each day with four ounces of vodka. In January and February, I retained no food for 53 days...
...negotiations on behalf of Charter. This could have involved up to 100,000 bbl. a day, for which Billy and his associates could have received as much as 55? per bbl. in commissions. To tide himself over until he would start receiving those fat fees, Billy asked Libya for a $500,000 loan...