State Supreme Court Chief Justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard fired back Tuesday in the wake of continuing national media coverage of the 2006 vacation photos showing him in Monaco with the executive of a coal company with cases before the court.

But questions about his vacation rendezvous with Massey Energy's Don Blankenship persist following the reports aired on ABC's "World News With Charles Gibson" and "Nightline."

Up for re-election this year, Maynard agreed to an interview by ABC for the reports, which focused on the conflict-of-interest allegations prompted by the photos. On Tuesday, he labeled the end result part of a "smear campaign" launched by political opponents.

"The broadcast on ABC News is another example of how far even mainstream news programs have fallen in their use of paparazzi-style tactics and other biased antics that most of us have grown to abhor," Maynard said in a statement to The Associated Press.

The report itself made headlines after an apparent scuffle between an ABC reporter and Blankenship, Massey's president, chairman and chief executive officer, outside one of the coal producer's Kentucky offices. Each side faults the other over the incident.

Maynard told ABC in the interview that during the Monaco meet-up with Blankenship and their female companions, "I think he bought a dinner, I bought a dinner. I think we each bought a dinner."

When the photos first surfaced Jan. 14, Maynard issued a statement saying, "I paid my own way, paid for my travel expenses, paid my own hotel expenses out of my own pocket. I have receipts and records to prove it." Blankenship also told the AP at the time that "I didn't pay for anything."

Maynard's re-election campaign later provided the photocopy of an online credit card record, reflecting charges within six days of his trip for a pair of $2,077 plane tickets and a $1,393 travel package from Expedia.com. Maynard and the campaign provided no additional records. Neither responded to questions, submitted in writing by the AP Jan. 18 at the justice's request, that asked whether he had received any "actual or in-kind gift from Massey or Blankenship."

But questions about his vacation rendezvous with Massey Energy's Don Blankenship persist following the reports aired on ABC's "World News With Charles Gibson" and "Nightline."

Up for re-election this year, Maynard agreed to an interview by ABC for the reports, which focused on the conflict-of-interest allegations prompted by the photos. On Tuesday, he labeled the end result part of a "smear campaign" launched by political opponents.

"The broadcast on ABC News is another example of how far even mainstream news programs have fallen in their use of paparazzi-style tactics and other biased antics that most of us have grown to abhor," Maynard said in a statement to The Associated Press.

The report itself made headlines after an apparent scuffle between an ABC reporter and Blankenship, Massey's president, chairman and chief executive officer, outside one of the coal producer's Kentucky offices. Each side faults the other over the incident.

Maynard told ABC in the interview that during the Monaco meet-up with Blankenship and their female companions, "I think he bought a dinner, I bought a dinner. I think we each bought a dinner."

When the photos first surfaced Jan. 14, Maynard issued a statement saying, "I paid my own way, paid for my travel expenses, paid my own hotel expenses out of my own pocket. I have receipts and records to prove it." Blankenship also told the AP at the time that "I didn't pay for anything."

Maynard's re-election campaign later provided the photocopy of an online credit card record, reflecting charges within six days of his trip for a pair of $2,077 plane tickets and a $1,393 travel package from Expedia.com. Maynard and the campaign provided no additional records. Neither responded to questions, submitted in writing by the AP Jan. 18 at the justice's request, that asked whether he had received any "actual or in-kind gift from Massey or Blankenship."

Maynard and a campaign spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday concerning his remarks to ABC about who paid for dinner.

State rules require public officials to disclose gifts, including meals and beverages, "from a person who has a direct and immediate interest in a governmental activity over which you have control," whenever their cumulative value during a given year exceeds $100. Maynard reported no such gifts in 2006 to the state Ethics Commission.

The rules governing judicial conduct, meanwhile, say that a judge shall "not to accept a gift, bequest, favor, or loan from anyone." That rule provides several exceptions, including one for "a gift, bequest, favor, or loan from a relative or close personal friend whose appearance or interest in a case would in any event require disqualification."

Elected in 1996, Maynard presided over a series of Massey-related cases until the photos were filed in one of them Jan. 14. He has since withdrawn from at least four.

Court rules call on judicial officials to disqualify themselves from "a proceeding in which the judge's impartiality might reasonably be questioned." They also leave the final decision solely with the official whose recusal has been requested.

Both he and Blankenship have acknowledged a decades-long friendship, while denying any wrongdoing. In his Tuesday statement, Maynard discounted any role that relationship has played in his rulings.

"At the base of every decision I've ever made and every opinion I've written is fairness and the rule of the law," he said. "My decisions have always been based on the hard evidence put in front of me."

Maynard counts the ongoing focus on the photos among "recent dirty tricks" from those opposed to "my record of fighting to keep the economy strong, keep insurance rates low, keep doctors in the state, and keep our families and communities safe."