Alito’s Hobby Lobby leak: The real problem with SCOTUS ethics rules right now.

And that is the crux of it. The fact that some of the justices believe that "casual" and "social" relationships with lobbyists, activists, and interested parties who have business before the court are appropriate and acceptable is the problem, because it means they cannot be trusted to avoid such contacts.

 The problem is that the same justices who keep blaming their colleagues and the press and the American public for broad declining trust in the institution seem to have no comprehension of what kinds of behaviors appear to be inappropriate because they actually areinappropriate. Traffic court judges in towns with four stoplights know better than to drink and vacation and shoot with interested parties before them, much less set aside choice seats for big ticket cases. Evidently it's different when the interested parties are rich...

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/11/alito-leak-hobby-lobby-real-problem.html