In an exclusive interview with the Dallas Morning News, a real estate billionaire, Harlan Crow, defended his relationship with Associate Justice Clarence Thomas and his collection of Nazi memorabilia while going on the offensive against the press. His critics, though, aren’t backing down.

“I think it’s a political hit job,” Mr. Crow told the Dallas Morning News. “I don’t think the media cares really much about Harlan Crow, and I think they’re right. They shouldn’t care much about Harlan Crow.”

He went on to allege that ProPublica, which has published reports about Mr. Crow and Justice Thomas, is “funded by leftists” and “has an agenda to destabilize the [Supreme] Court,” adding that the outlet’s reporting “is not truthful” and that he considers it “yellow journalism.”

Mr. Crow also offered a rebuttal to criticism of his collection of Nazi artifacts, saying that they are part of a larger collection of historical artifacts and books relating to every aspect of American history, including those America fought.

“My mom was on a ship that was sunk by Germans during World War II,” Mr. Crow said. “If you try to kill my mom, I don’t like you. I mean, that’s reasonably obvious. And so the idea that I could have sympathy for Nazism is insane.”

Although it’s not clear whether Justice Thomas and Mr. Crow broke the law, their close relationship has spurred criticism from Democrats who say it may have violated the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 because Justice Thomas failed to disclose the sale of a Georgia home to Mr. Crow.

While Justice Thomas has said he would revise his financial disclosure statement, Senator Whitehouse and Representative Hank Johnson have called on the attorney general’s office to investigate the transaction.

“There is at least reasonable cause to believe that Justice Thomas intentionally disregarded the disclosure requirement to report the sale of his interest in the Savannah properties in an attempt to hide the extent of his financial relationship with Crow,” Messrs. Whitehouse and Johnson said in a joint statement.

Mr. Crow has had a decade-plus-long interest in preserving pieces of Justice Thomas’s personal history, and the purchase of the home was a part of this preservation, according to Mr. Crow.

Among Justice Thomas’s harshest critics is Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who addressed the topic on Monday’s episode of “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central.

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez told the host, Jordan Klepper, that Mr. Crow’s collection is “bizarre.” It includes a signed copy of “Mein Kampf” as well as linens with Nazi symbols and other artifacts.

On Justice Thomas, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said he shouldn’t have accepted “money from people,” referring to the purchase of the home as well as the vacations Justice Thomas accepted.

“This is why we pay salaries to public servants,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said. “And if they want to live that kind of lifestyle, then they can resign from the court. They can retire.”