Fox News analyst calls for investigation of Clarence Thomas corruption claims

The supreme court justice Clarence Thomas must be investigated over allegations of corruption, his friend, the Fox News analyst Juan Williams, wrote on Monday.

ProPublica also reported how Crow, a collector of far-right memorabilia including statues of dictators and paintings by Adolf Hitler, purchased property from Thomas, who did not disclose the sale.

Thomas issued a rare statement, saying he had followed advice about disclosure requirements but would follow guidelines in future.

Crow denies wrongdoing, saying Thomas and his wife, the far-right activist Ginni Thomas (whose work Crow has funded), are close friends with whom he does not discuss politics or matters before the court.

But though supreme court justices are subject to federal ethics regulations, they in effect govern themselves.

Furthermore, Thomas, the senior conservative on a court split 6-3 in favour of the right, has the protection of Republicans in Congress, who control the House of Representatives.

Williams, a registered Democrat and liberal voice on Fox News, said he had known Thomas 40 years.