The simplest explanation for this is that GOP members of the Court know this is how their people (including some members of the Court) do business, therefore there can be nothing wrong with it. Taken further, this is very likely how most of your GOP state and local government is run.
The final SCOTUS decision today is Snyder v. US. Kavanaugh has the court's 6-3 decision on ideological grounds, holding that the Section 666 bribery statute does not apply to "gratuities" given for public officials' *past* acts. Jackson writes the liberals' dissent.
