06:30 PM EST on Monday, December 12, 2005

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- He's the head of Kentucky’s Supreme Court, a man who has considered running for governor. In the past few days, he's been running from our questions about a federal grand jury investigation.

"Mark, I have nothing to say to you."

That's Chief Justice Joseph Lambert, Kentucky’s top elected judge. We were trying to ask him about a federal grand jury investigation that may be hitting very close to home.

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Here's how. Ross Harris is an eastern Kentucky businessman convicted of buying votes. Now a federal grand jury wants to know if he funneled illegal campaign contributions to Lambert’s wife, Family Court Judge Debra Lambert.

Ten days ago, Joseph Lambert’s former chief of staff was called to testify before the grand jury. We wanted to hear from the chief justice: what, if anything, did he know about the federal probe? After not returning our phone calls, we confronted Justice Joseph Lambert before a meeting in Louisville.

Once inside, Lambert ignored further questions. A spokesman for Lambert says the FBI or federal prosecutors haven’t contacted the chief justice.

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In the past few days, Kentucky's Chief Justice Joseph Lambert has been running from our questions about a federal grand jury investigation.

Sources tell us the feds are looking at Ross Harris’s contributions to several politicians. We know he funneled thousands of dollars to Debra Lambert’s campaign. We also know Harris won a $14 million lawsuit that the state Supreme Court upheld with justice Lambert’s vote.

Lambert's former chief of staff, Jim Deckard, isn't talking about his grand jury appearance. He hasn't returned several phone messages. Deckard is now the top lawyer in governor Fletcher’s office. Fletcher won't say whether he's discussed the federal investigation with Deckard.

Again, a spokesman for Chief Justice Lambert says the judge hasn't received any phone calls or letters from federal investigators, and he doesn't know anything about the federal probe. The justice's wife, Family Court Judge Debra Lambert, did not return a phone message left at her office. Ross Harris's lawyer refused to comment.

Web story produced by Jay Ditzer.