(The Center Square) – The Tennessee Senate has expelled a sitting senator for what is believed to be the first time in the body's 226-year history.

The Senate voted along party lines Wednesday, 27-5, to oust Sen. Katrina Robinson, D-Memphis, based on a Senate Ethics Committee recommendation.

Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin, presented the committee's report and said the committee and Senate were not a “court of law,” but their job was to “maintain and enhance the integrity of the Senate.”

Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and several senators said Wednesday's expulsion was the first in state Senate history. Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, said he checked with the legislative librarian Tuesday and found the “specter of expulsion” had been addressed only three previous times: 1921, 1890 and 1882.

The basis for the expulsion was two federal counts of wire fraud Robinson was convicted of by a jury in September. She was acquitted of two additional counts in January, and her sentencing is scheduled for March 3.

Robinson and two of her lawyers appeared before the Senate on Wednesday, saying the two remaining convictions amounted to $3,400 in misappropriated funds. She was indicted on 48 counts in July 2020.

Robinson and her lawyers asked for a 30-day delay in the Senate proceeding, saying she would resign if the convictions stood and she was sentenced.

The Senate voted 16-16 on delaying the proceeding for 30 days, but a majority was needed and the motion failed. Sen. Brenda Gilmore, D-Nashville, tweeted Wednesday she was not in attendance because she tested positive for COVID-19 but said that she supported Robinson.

Robinson called the vote a “procedural lynching” in front of the Senate after the vote to delay failed before saying she had gone two years without allowing the public to see her cry, breaking down in tears.

“This procedure is not even worth my presence … because the decision has already been made,” Robinson said. “This is a show. … It is not a fair process. It has never been a fair process.”

McNally defended the process in a statement issued after Wednesday's vote. 

“While the expulsion of a Senator for the first time in history was not something any of us wished to see, it was a necessary action,” McNally said in a statement. “The integrity of the Senate is of paramount importance. Senator Robinson was given every consideration and due process. The Senate could have acted immediately following her conviction. The Senate instead allowed her time to pursue every legal motion and all have been considered by the court.”

The lieutenant governor also said Robinson's actions led to the final outcome.

“The Senate also delayed action in order to allow Senator Robinson time to reflect and resign. She declined that opportunity,” McNally said. “The Ethics Committee Report was thoughtful, informative and persuasive. Senators Haile and (John) Stevens clearly demonstrated that Senator Robinson’s actions demanded her removal from the body. While this result was avoidable, Senator Robinson's actions and her refusal to resign made it inevitable. A sad day for the Senate.”

Robinson pointed to federal campaign finance charges against Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, and accusations that Sen. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald, had written opioid prescriptions for his second cousin, a nurse who he allegedly had a romantic relationship with according to media reports.

Neither Kelsey nor Hensley has been convicted of a crime, but Robinson said neither had been brought before the ethics committee.

“There is a distinction between a conviction and a final judgment,” attorney Lawrence Laurenzi said. “March 3 is final judgment.”

Sen. Sara Kyle, D-Memphis, said the acquittals “proved that no federal funds were misused.”

Sen. John Stevens, R-Huntingdon, who is a member of the ethics committee, pointed to Tennessee law on convictions and said even before she is sentenced, Robinson was found guilty by a jury of Tennesseans.

“Those were facts, found in a court of law,” Stevens said. “If we don’t respect our institutions of government, we will have less people participate.”