NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Republican-led Tennessee Senate is planning a vote Wednesday on whether to remove Democratic Sen. Katrina Robinson from office because of her recent wire fraud conviction.
Robinson’s criminal case involves grant money at a health care school she operated. She already had been acquitted by a judge on 15 of 20 charges sought by federal prosecutors.
In September, a jury convicted her of four of five wire fraud counts. A judge later dismissed two more counts. The two remaining charges allege Robinson used about $3,400 in federal funds on wedding expenses in 2016.
The judge wrote that “sufficient evidence was presented at trial for the jury to conclude that Robinson committed wire fraud” through those two counts.
Robinson was elected in 2018. She has maintained her innocence but has declined to say whether she will resign.
GOP senators have declined Robinson’s request to delay removal proceedings until after her sentencing in March.
