GOP-led Tennessee Senate expels Democrat convicted of fraud

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI and JONATHAN MATTISE
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Republican-led Tennessee Senate voted Wednesday to remove Democratic Sen. Katrina Robinson from office because of her recent wire fraud conviction. It’s the first time the chamber has removed a senator since at least the Civil War. Prosecutors accused the Memphis lawmaker of paying personal expenses from more than $600,000 in federal grant money awarded to a school for health care workers she operated. She was ultimately found guilty of two of the 20 counts, involving $3,400 in wedding expenses in 2016. Robinson has maintained her innocence. The Black woman said the 27-5 vote by the white-majority chamber was a “procedural lynching.”