Republican-controlled Senate expels Robinson in historic 27-5 vote – Tennessee Lookout
For the first time in history, the Senate expelled a member, voting Wednesday to oust Democratic Senator Katrina Robinson from Memphis for violating ethics rules based on two felony convictions and a pretrial diversion agreement.
At a Senate hearing, senators voted 27-5 along party lines to expel Robinson for violating his code of ethics despite his pleas to wait until after a March 3 sentencing hearing. Republicans hold a supermajority in the chamber.
At one point while arguing his case, Robinson called the hearing a “procedural lynching,” prompting cries of support from the gallery where black lawmakers and friends stood.
Outside the Senate chamber afterwards, Robinson said, “It’s sexist, it’s racist, it’s discriminatory. The majority party vote today is meant to further deprive the voices of my constituents that you see behind me, people who look like me.
She argued that other senators should also have been sanctioned for their legal and moral failings.
At the start of the hearing, senators heard the basis for Robinson’s deportation, a conviction on two counts of wire fraud in connection with expenses that 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 misappropriating more than $600,000 from her school between 2016 and 2018. She received federal grants of $2.2 million, which were to be used to manage school, but federal prosecutors say she spent the money illegally, using it for a lavish lifestyle, including her marriage and then divorce. But those were whittled down to just two wire fraud guilty verdicts totaling less than $3,500, which were upheld by U.S. District Court Judge Sheryl Lipman. Robinson still questions those numbers.
The judge, however, denied his request for a new trial and refused to drop the two remaining charges and set the sentence for March 3.
The move sparked action by the Republican-controlled Senate to expel him for violating its code of ethics. Convicted felons are not allowed to sit in the Senate.
A white suit in a sea of dark suits: Robinson faces colleagues. On a partisan split of 27-5, the Senate voted to expel him. (Photo: John Partipilo)
Sen. Katrina Robinson, D-Memphis, has asked for 30 days to settle her case. A motion to defer eviction was denied. (Photo: John Partipilo)
Robinson’s attorneys address members of the Senate. (Photo: John Partipilo_
Supporters of Senator Katrina Robinson filled the Senate gallery. (Photo: John Partipilo)
Robinson, who noted that she hasn’t cried publicly since charges were first brought against her two years ago, tore into the Senate. (Photo: John Partipilo)
Robinson hugs a friend outside the Senate Chambers. (Photo: John Partipilo)
The Senate expulsion vote was also based on a pretrial diversion agreement she reached in December 2021 with federal prosecutors on charges that she and two co-conspirators defrauded more than $14,000 out of a nursing school student.
Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally then released a statement saying the expulsion was a “necessary action” although none of the members wanted it to happen.
“The integrity of the Senate is of paramount importance. Senator Robinson had the benefit of full consideration and due process. The Senate could have acted immediately after his conviction,” he said.
The Senate gave her time to “reflect and resign,” but she refused, making deportation “inevitable,” he said.
“A sad day for the Senate,” McNally added.
Robinson’s attorneys urged the Senate to wait after his March 3 sentencing, saying they could file motions to have both convictions overturned, though they would not confirm that further motions should be made. If the judge hearing the case declines and upholds the felony convictions, Robinson would resign, his lawyers said.
Her lawyer also argued that the other charges against her were questionable.
“The harm is significant,” Robinson’s attorney Janika White said, saying a premature eviction could cause her client irreparable harm.
Despite these appeals, Republican Senator John Stevens of Huntingdon argued that the Senate had not rushed to judgment, instead waiting for the judge to decide not to drop the final two counts and refuse to hold a hearing. new trial. The Senate could move forward in a “fair” way, based on convictions, he said.
“What do we have to do?” Stevens said. “A jury of Tennesseans found her guilty of felonies. Should we wait for a judge to confirm this and for his ability to vote to be removed and become a final judgment? This is the request.
Stevens argued that the Senate was bound by its rules, not those laws, and should act “without prejudice and without bias.”
The Senate is not a court and questions have been raised about whether Robinson should even be allowed to have his attorneys present to speak.
Stevens pointed out that a jury, not the Senate, determined that Robinson had committed wire fraud. Additionally, she violated Senate guidelines on “moral turpitude” by entering into the pretrial diversion agreement, he said.
In 226 years of existence, this organization has never taken the actions that the ethics committee asks us to take today, not once.
– Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, on the Senate ousting of Sen. Katrina Robinson on Wednesday
Robinson’s attorney, Lawrence Laurenzi, told senators that the agreement was not an admission of guilt and that no crime had been committed. In fact, the government did not take the case to court because the facts were “problematic”, he said.
White added that a termination order exists and that Robinson is eligible for disbarment in the case.
Robinson’s supporters in the Senate argued that a decision to expel him would ignore the wishes of voters in the 33rd Senate District in Memphis.
Senator Raumesh Akbari, a Democrat from Memphis, implored the Senate to postpone the hearing until it is sentenced due to the possibility that the final charges could be dropped.
Otherwise, Akbari said, “As a body, we will have removed a member based on something that was neither final nor true. I don’t want to see a fair judgment when the judge hasn’t signed the final sentence.
Senate Minority Leader Jeff Yarbro argued that the Constitution does not give senators the power to decide who serves.
“In the 226 years of existence of this organization, it has never taken the steps that the ethics committee asks us to take today, not once,” he said.
With much of an ethics committee report based on the criminal complaint against Robinson, Yarbro argued the Senate should await final judgment. At that point, she could lose her eligibility to serve, he said.

Yarbro also questioned how the Senate could expel someone for conduct before taking office. The charges related to Robinson’s actions from 2016 to 2018, before he took office.
Yarbro called for a vote to postpone the hearing until March 7, five days after his sentencing.
In a bizarre twist, the senators voted 16 to 16, apparently because some of its members were confused about the vote. Some thought they were voting on a motion to vote on Yarbro’s request.
Had Democratic Senator Brenda Gilmore been present, instead of being sick, the chamber might have postponed the hearing.
So, technically, Lieutenant Governor McNally and several others accidentally voted to postpone the hearing. McNally’s spokesperson later explained that the tied vote was due to “confusion”.
In his closing statement, Robinson argued that Republican senators were ready to expel him before the hearing began.
She argued four other people should also have been deported: Senator Joey Hensley of Hohenwald, whose medical license was revoked after he admitted prescribing opioids to his assistant and having an affair with the woman, who was also his cousin; Sen. Brian Kelsey of Germantown, who faces five counts of violating federal campaign finance law for allegedly funneling state funds through nonprofits to promote his failed congressional campaign in 2016; Senator Stevens, who answered questions about his campaign finance reports; and former Sen. Steve Dickerson of Nashville who reached a settlement with the federal government after being accused of participating in a $6 million Medicare fraud scheme.