Collins' question

“If President Trump had more than one motive for his alleged conduct — such as the pursuit of personal political advantage, rooting out corruption and the promotion of national interest — how should the Senate consider more than one motive in its assessment of Article 1?”

[...]

She said she was asking the question on behalf of herself as well as Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, two other Republican lawmakers viewed as key swing votes in the Senate trial.

[...]

“If there is something that shows a possible public interest and the president could have that possible public-interest motive, that destroys their case. Once you’re into mixed-motive land, it’s clear that their case fails,” Philbin said.

  Marketwatch

What a bunch of unmitigated bullshit. How about if I rob a bank, and one of my motives is to get rich and the other is to donate something to feeding starving children? Can I go free?

This is an out for any Republican senator to offer his constituents for an acquittal vote.

If it’s really true that a mixed motive can’t be the basis for removal, then the senators need only conclude that Trump had, somewhere in his mind, some public interest, perhaps ferreting out corruption generally or forcing other countries to share in the costs of NATO, to justify a vote for acquittal.

[...]

Indeed, at one point, Philbin argued that it would be enough if the president might have had such a motive to clear the way for acquittal.

It requires only brief reflection to see that the position is akin to insulating from any constitutional remedy the most vile and abusive presidential conduct. For it will routinely be the case that a president, even in the middle of some desperate or foolish act of law breaking, might also have some more benign motive somewhere in mind.

This kind of squishy thinking would not fly in a real court.

[...]

If Republican senators are persuaded by the mixed-motive argument and use it as a basis for voting against witnesses, they will have been hoodwinked, and perhaps willingly.

    WaPo

Not perhaps.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.