 In 1998 Rupert Murdoch (qv) ordered Fox Television to abandon its  planned production of "Strange Justice," a drama based on the book  of that title by the New York Times Jill Abramson (qv) and the New  Yorkers Jane Mayer (qv) about the confirmation of conservative  Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (II) (qv). (It was  subsequently produced and shown by Showtime.) According to a New  York Times report, Murdoch told an associate that Thomas was a  friend of his and that he had been railroaded during his  confirmation hearing.