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ALERT: Liberal Lawmaker Has Been EXPELLED From The Senate!

For the first time in history, the Senate expelled a member, voting Wednesday to oust Tennessee Democratic Sen. Katrina Robinson for violating ethics rules after being convicted of two felony fraud counts totaling less than $3,500.

Just last week, a Senate Ethics Committee determined Robinson violated the body’s code of ethics and recommended she be removed from her position.

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In a Senate chamber hearing, senators voted 27-5, along party lines, to expel Robinson despite her pleas to wait until after a March 3 sentencing hearing.

At one point in making her case, Robinson called the hearing a “procedural lynching,” drawing cries of support from the gallery where Black lawmakers and friends stood.

At this time, Robinson awaits sentencing for two federal fraud charges related to the mismanagement of federal funds in connection to her leadership at the Healthcare Institute.

The case involving Robinson now only involves a $3,400 reporting error.

Robinson, who is Black, argued before the 27-5 vote to expel her that she had been unfairly judged by the white-majority chamber. She called it a “procedural lynching,” prompting cheers of support that the Republican speaker gaveled down. Some of her supporters in the gallery were in tears and others stood in solidarity.

“I feel beat up standing in front of you guys,” Robinson said. “And really I didn’t prepare any words because there are no words for what this is.”

Senators heard the basis for Robinson’s expulsion, a conviction on two counts of wire fraud in connection with expenses federal prosecutors said she illegally took from her nursing school, The HealthCare Institute in Memphis. The U.S. Attorney’s Office charged Robinson with 48 counts of embezzling more than $600,000 from her school between 2016 and 2018. She received federal grants of $2.2 million, which was to be used to run the school, but federal prosecutors claim she spent the money illegally, using it for a lavish lifestyle, including spending it on her wedding and then to pay for a divorce.

Robinson’s attorneys urged the Senate to wait until after her March 3 sentencing, saying they could be filing motions to have the two convictions dropped. If the judge hearing the case refuses and confirms the felony convictions, the senator would resign, her attorneys said.

Her counsel also argued that the counts against her are questionable and still could be dismissed.

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“The harm is significant,” said Robinson’s attorney, Janika White.

By the time Robinson’s trial ended in September 2021, she was convicted on only four counts, two-wire fraud charges, and two counts of misleading financial reports, the latter of which U.S. District Court Judge Sheryl Lipman dropped. The judge, however, denied her request for a retrial and refused to drop the two remaining charges, and set sentencing for March 3.

That decision was set in motion action by the Republican-controlled Senate to expel her for violating its ethics code. Convicted felons are not allowed to serve in the Senate.

Sources: Westernjournal, Actionnews5, Pressreader

 

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