It's the question that has been whispered around the state legislature for years: What kind of relationship did House Speaker Jim Black have with former staffer and lobbyist Meredith Norris?

As a legislative aide to Black, Norris trumped senior staffers in his office when it came to political duties and access to the speaker. When she became a lobbyist, he allowed her to use his state-issued laptop computer and help write legislation that assisted her clients.

None of this has gone unnoticed by federal authorities, who have been examining Black's legislative and campaign activities for more than a year. Aggressively and publicly, they are seeking an answer to a question that few had been willing to ask aloud.

Last month, prosecutors at the federal trial of former state lottery commissioner Kevin L. Geddings asked Black whether he had a "close personal relationship" with Norris.

Before Black took the stand, First Assistant U.S. Attorney John Bruce said the relationship affected government decisions and could cause "extreme embarrassment." He said it spoke to Black's motive and bias in putting Geddings, a consultant to lottery vendor Scientific Games, on the state lottery commission. Scientific Games was a lobbying client of Norris'.

Black, 71 and married, testified in the trial and has said in interviews that his relationship with Norris, 32 and single, was strictly professional. He also testified that he did not know of Geddings' ties to Scientific Games. A jury convicted Geddings of five counts of mail fraud.

Bruce has not offered further explanation of his comments about the relationship between Black and Norris, leaving some of those who have worked closely with Black over the years scratching their heads.

Former Rep. Phil Baddour, a Goldsboro Democrat, roomed with Black when Norris worked for him as a legislative aide. Baddour said he saw nothing to indicate anything unusual between the two.

"During the time that I served in the House with Jim Black, I never saw anything that would lead me to believe that his relationship with any member of his staff was anything but professional," said Baddour, who served four terms before losing his seat in 2002.

Black, a Mecklenburg County Democrat and four-term speaker, declined to comment for this story. His spokeswoman, Julie Robinson, said in an e-mail message that Black was spending time with his family over Thanksgiving and "isn't going to take time ... to talk to you about untrue rumors and gossip that shouldn't appear in a grocery store tabloid, much less the News and Observer."

An uncertain future

The outcome of Black's Nov. 7 re-election bid remains undecided. A recount last week showed him with a 30-vote lead over his Republican challenger, but the count was complicated by 446 ballots cast in error by voters from outside Black's district. The State Board of Elections is set to meet Tuesday to decide what to do about the race.

If Black is ruled the winner, his return to the speaker post is not assured. Several Democrats have expressed interest in seeking the job when the legislature reconvenes in January.

Norris also declined to comment. In a September 2005 interview, she said that Black helped her career as part of an effort to help young women gain entry in a field that is dominated by older, white men.

"He sees females, and also just young people in general, as facing a lot of disadvantages," Norris said at the time.

A review of thousands of documents, and interviews with former and current legislators and others involved in Black's legislative activities, show that Black and Norris had a close working relationship that stretched from morning to night. Many of the documents are e-mail messages Norris sent to Black staffers and other governmental officials as part of her lobbying work.

Although Norris gushed in some messages about one young, single legislator that she had a crush on, none of the messages released suggest a romantic link with Black.

Correspondence, interviews and federal court testimony do show that Norris gained clout and access with Black soon after she came to work for him in 1999.

Former state Rep. Andy Dedmon, a Cleveland County Democrat and a member of the House leadership in the 2001-02 session, said he could not understand how Norris became so powerful so quickly in Black's office. In just a few years, he said, she went from answering the phones to overruling senior staffers.

Dedmon said it reached the point that when House members were invited to Black's Raleigh condo for cocktails or a barbecue, "her name would be bigger than the speaker's on the invitation."

Former Rep. Ruth Easterling, a Charlotte Democrat, said in an interview shortly before she died this month that she warned Black about the friction Norris was creating among his senior staffers by going over their heads. This was back when Norris was a legislative aide.

"She exerted more power than she had, and Jim didn't keep up with that," said Easterling, who retired from the legislature in 2002 after 13 terms. "I think he thought that he hired very capable people, and he would leave them to do the responsibilities of the job, and sometimes this woman would overstep her power."

Easterling said she did not remember specific instances, and she also did not recall how Black responded to her concerns.

Norris' path

Norris left the speaker's staff in late 2002 to work as a lobbyist for the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. She stayed there for a few months, then left to work as a lobbyist and administrative assistant to the state's seven regional economic development partnerships. In 2005, she picked up four other clients.

She remained close to Black, serving as his unpaid political director, which included raising money for Black and other House Democrats and putting together campaign strategy meetings. Correspondence and court testimony show that Norris used Black's staff and her access to his e-mail to help her lobbying clients.

The correspondence also shows that Norris emphasized to the speaker's staff that she had Black's ear. In August 2005, Norris responded sharply when Robinson, Black's communications director, complained about not being informed about an opinion piece by Black that Norris was trying to get published in state newspapers.

"Bare minimum, I wish you would have told me that you were having conversations with editors since that's my job," Robinson wrote.

Norris' reply: "My job to the Speaker also involves public/external relations and you knew that [when] you were hired. You don't get to do everything in the office or outside the office. I also did not tell you because the Speaker told me not to communicate with you any longer because you always want to argue with me."

She then complained to Robinson's boss, Chief of Staff Mike Wilkins: "I absolutely cannot take any more of Julie's negative behavior to me and her consummate attitude of uncooperativeness."

Robinson declined to say how the dispute was resolved.

In October 2005, shortly after The News & Observer reported Norris' undisclosed lobbying work for Scientific Games and the company's success in shaping the lottery legislation, Black announced that Norris was no longer his political director.

Two months later, Black admitted that he had made a mistake in letting her play a key role in his political campaign while lobbying for clients who had a lot at stake in the legislature.

"In retrospect, that was a poor judgment on my part," Black said. "I take full responsibility for that."

Norris lost many of her lobbying clients, including Scientific Games, and in August pleaded no contest to failing to register as a lobbyist for the company. She is banned from lobbying in North Carolina for two years.

Meanwhile, a federal grand jury continues to look into the connections between Black and Norris. One of those who has been called to testify is former Rep. Bill Culpepper, an Edenton Democrat whom Black appointed chairman of the powerful Rules Committee. After Baddour lost his re-election, Culpepper began rooming with Black, in a condo across the street from Norris'.

Culpepper declined to talk about Black and Norris, or anything else related to the investigation.