The Burden of Billy

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has not attempted to obstruct justice or influence the Justice Department." Actually, there is as yet no solid evidence that the Libyans got anything from Billy Carter of value for their money or that his friendship in any way influenced U.S. policy toward Libya. In its most serious interpretation, the evidence suggests that Libya's Muammar Gaddafi might have skillfully got Billy into debt financially with the aim of gaining future benefits. In the most lenient interpretation, Billy had simply hoodwinked the Libyans into thinking he had more influence than he has—and happily taken the money and run without seeking any favors for Libya from his brother's White House in return.

That said, the whole Billy Carter saga and the ways in which it peripherally entangled the White House add up to a sorry story of incompetence in high places. As pieced together by TIME correspondents, this is what happened:

At the beginning of 1978, Gaddafi's Libya, once one of the more backward and impoverished of the Arab countries, had few friends abroad. A radical who considers the Palestine Liberation Organization too moderate, Gaddafi had vociferously opposed the peace overtures of Egypt's Anwar Sadat. Egyptian and Libyan armies had even engaged in border skirmishes. A supporter of worldwide terrorist activities against governments he opposes, Gaddafi was considered unreliable by Soviet leaders, although they were generously plying him with sophisticated arms. While Gaddafi kept selling oil to the U.S., his relations with Washington had been strained ever since 1973, when President Nixon blocked the sale of eight C-130 Hercules military jet-transport planes to Libya. The Arab nation had paid Lockheed $60 million for the aircraft, but Nixon denied the required export license in hopes of restraining Libya's encouragement of international terrorism.

The chain of events that led to the imminent Senate hearings began in January 1978, when an Atlanta businessman, Mario Leanza, visited the Grand Hotel Excelsior in Catania, Sicily. There Leanza met Michele Papa, an Italian who had formed a Sicilian-Libyan Friendship Association. Papa had been told by Ahmed Shahati, head of Libya's foreign liaison office in Tripoli, that Gaddafi respected the tough American oilmen he had met, wanted to do more business with the U.S., and change Libya's image in America —and get his hands on those C-130s. During the Carter Administration, the Libyans had also been unable to get delivery of three Boeing 747 airliners, two 727s and 400 heavy-duty trucks, for which they had paid a total of some $300 million.

"If only we could get someone close to the White House," Shahati told Papa. "My American friends in the oil business tell me that this Billy Carter is approachable and likable." Papa was surprised that Leanza, being from Georgia, did not know Billy, but he persuaded Leanza to carry an engraved invitation to Billy from the Libyan government to visit that country at its expense.

The Libyans considered Billy so potentially useful that Libya's Ambassador to Italy, Gibrill Shalouf, twice flew to Georgia to urge him to make the trip. The first meeting in June 1978 went well, but Billy showed no great eagerness to rush off to Tripoli. When Shalouf returned to Georgia in September to press the invitation once again, Billy was more