Opinion
Tennessee Democrat expelled from state Senate over fraud conviction
NEWNow you can hearken to Fox Information articles!
A Tennessee Democrat was expelled from the state Senate on Wednesday over her conviction on fraud costs.
State Sen. Katrina Robinson of Memphis was convicted of wire fraud final fall after being accused of stealing $600,000 from a well being care faculty she ran to pay for her wedding ceremony and different private bills earlier than she was in workplace.
On Wednesday, state senators voted 27-5 for her expulsion after a advice from the Ethics Committee, FOX 13 of Memphis reported.
Democratic state Sen. Katrina Robinson appears to be like at her telephone in Nashville, Tennessee, on the Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022. The Republican-led Tennessee Senate voted Wednesday to take away Robinson from workplace due to her latest wire fraud conviction, the primary time the chamber has eliminated a senator since no less than the Civil Battle.
(Related Press)
Senate Speaker Randy McNally stated in an announcement Wednesday, “Whereas the expulsion of a Senator for the primary time in historical past was not one thing any of us wished to see, it was a vital motion. The integrity of the Senate is of paramount significance.”
“Whereas the expulsion of a Senator for the primary time in historical past was not one thing any of us wished to see, it was a vital motion. The integrity of the Senate is of paramount significance.”
TENNESSEE DEMOCRATIC STATE SENATOR CONVICTED OF WIRE FRAUD
‘Procedural lynching’
Robinson referred to as the expulsion a “procedural lynching” and claimed the method was “racist” and “misogynistic” and talked about scandals which have plagued different state senators who haven’t been expelled.
This undated picture supplied by the Tennessee state Senate exhibits Tennessee state Sen. Katrina Robinson in Nashville.
(Related Press)
“They decided she violated a felony statute,” Republican state Sen. John Stevens stated of her conviction. “How can we demand that residents respect the integrity and repute of the Senate if we disrespect them by ignoring their determinations?”
Dems sought delay
She and different Democrats argued the vote must be delayed till March when she is sentenced on two costs. Robinson was acquitted by a decide on 15 of 20 costs and a jury convicted her on 4 of the 5 costs of wire fraud.
Two of the 4 remaining costs had been later dismissed by a decide and she or he was finally convicted on simply two of the 20 counts, involving $3,400 in wedding ceremony bills in 2016, in line with FOX 13.
“I really feel beat up standing in entrance of you guys,” Robinson stated. “And actually I didn’t put together any phrases as a result of there are not any phrases for what that is.”
The final time any Tennessee lawmaker was expelled was in 1866 after the Civil Battle when six Home members had been eliminated as a result of they refused to attend a particular legislative session, a legislative librarian instructed The Related Press.
Robinson, 41, represented Tennessee’s thirty third state Senate district, composed of parts of Memphis and close by suburbs. She was in her first time period after being elected to the Senate in 2018.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
