This is the ONLY official archived legal webpage of Dr. Vincent Dammai
Dammai Morgan Scientific Consultants (DMSC) was established in September 2011 with a vision to empower biotech companies with powerful tools to advance scientific discovery and develop futuristic technologies and marketable products.
As DMSC was entering into contractual agreements, a federal case unsealed in late December 2011 falsely charged Dr.Dammai in a conspiracy to use stem cells to treat MS, ALS, Parkinson's and 'other autoimmune disorders'. Government alleged these events occurred prior to 2010. The case is directly linked to the criminal activities of South Carolina State Senator Stephen Lewis Goldfinch Jr. who, through a company called Caledonia Consulting LLC, illegally supplied (without Dr.Dammai's knowledge) stem cells produced for research purposes to clinicians for treating patients (click here). FDA, FBI and DOJ carefully crafted a twisted narrative of the facts to cover-up Stephen Goldfinch's leading role in the scam and shift blame onto others, until a pioneering investigative report by FITSnews exposed Goldfinch's scam, forcing DOJ to file charges on Stephen Goldfinch. Individuals charged in this case variously resolved their charges. [Dr. Dammai's case ended with $500 fine for 'mislabeling', a FDA class B misdemeanor for not labeling vials stating "for research use only" and "not for human use", a technical violation that could have prevented misuse]. All other charges were DISMISSED. See CASE CLOSED below.
Intentional commingling of this case with another unrelated high-profile 24-count indictment was used to spread a false narrative that Dr.Dammai had direct/indirect links with F.M and L.S. Official sources widely disseminated degenerate statements and heady and lucrative stories (USDOJ, FDA), prompting emboldened and sensational writings/communications by media, lay persons and nescient 'experts', distorting public perception at will. Importantly, the topic of money was embellished to create a false impression that Dr.Dammai financially benefited from the alleged treatments. DOJ, FDA and FBI abandoned the principles of equal justice enshrined in our constitution and exploited the opportunity to advance their agenda (see link here). These events and deliberate false propaganda to sow prejudice scorn the fundamental right to due process of law and defeat the rightful benefits of pursuit of justice. [Federal prosecutors quietly concluded that Dr. Dammai was NOT involved in F.M/L.S case. By mid-2012, F.M/L.S case was announced as a 'separate case' and pleas in that case were obtained in September, 2012. It is not clear if other 'unnamed co-conspirators' in the F.M/L.S case will ever be prosecuted.]
Dr.Dammai's Case Resolution: On July 30, 2013, based on government's interpretation of biologics regulations as applied to stem cells, Dr.Dammai agreed to a narrowly applied FDA misdemeanor, specifically: "stem cells and packaging did not contain any directions for use", a 'mislabeling' violation incurred during technology development.
Dr.Dammai disagreed with the government on all other charges. Those charges were confronted at a hearing on January 27, 2014, resulting in the charges being DISMISSED by federal judge. The judge also RULED all income received by Dr.Dammai as legal earnings. [CASE CLOSED; Public Statements]
However, DOJ and FDA's press releases regarding the plea contains canards, errors and distortions. In light of continuing efforts at the time by Dr.Dammai's attorneys to seek a verdict on the unresolved charges at an impending hearing (held on January 27, 2014), these factually false press releases circumvented due process by making gross misrepresentations of the plea document and court proceedings. For example, the press release headline reads "..plea to introducing stem cells into interstate commerce", which is factually a lie. Dr.Dammai's plea was for mislabeling and not for any interstate commerce, which involves a sale transaction, and Dr.Dammai never sold, while Goldfinch did sell across state lines. Some others are pointed out below:
(1) 'Mislabeling' was enforced in Dr.Dammai's case as a strict-liability for not providing adequate labels. It carried a maximum fine of $1000. Dr.Dammai had no knowledge of FM's activities.
(2) Strategic mention of ALS, MS and Parkinson's in the press releases intentionally perpetuates the false narrative and (false) links with F.M and L.S case. These diseases are not mentioned in Dr.Dammai's plea and superseding information. Further, government's latest version of F.M/L.S case (here) differs vastly from the original DOJ story (here), including the money involved. Dr.Dammai was NOT involved with F.M and L.S.
(3) The press releases state: "Dammai acknowledged he was ONLY authorized to conduct research in kidney cancer." FALSE. Dr.Dammai had multiple ongoing research studies related to kidney cancers as well as stem cell-related projects.
(4) The press releases states: During the plea....Dammai also admitted he "did not have any 'formal training' in how to process stem cells." Dr.Dammai DID NOT admit any such thing in the court or in plea document. Public can verify this fact from the plea document and court transcript. Dr. Dammai's technical expertise is evidenced by: research in Dr.Dammai's laboratory for over 5 years, stem cell related grants with Dr.Dammai as the principle investigator (and scored as 'Excellent' by experts) and publications under revision.
(5) F.M is mentioned as a "co-conspirator" despite specific exclusion of such highly objectionable conspiratorial language in the legally valid plea agreement and superseding information. Dr.Dammai DID NOT enter into conspiracy with F.M, as explained by Dr.Dammai's attorney to Prentiss Findlay of The Post and Courier regarding the plea (Public Statements). Dr.Dammai NEVER sold or shipped stem cells to F.M.
(6) DOJ falsely represents Dr.Dammai by continuing to conceal the truth that unknown to Dr.Dammai, Stephen Goldfinch and Yair Adereth (Caledonia Consulting) were the main suppliers of stem cells to F.Morales (and others). Goldfinch and Adereth made $ 5 million from their stem cell operations.
(7) DOJ altered the truth about source of cord blood and stem cells to shift blame away from Goldfinch. For example, contrary to DOJ press releases (here and here), Dr. Ramon was never involved with Caledonia Consulting. FITSnews reported two Conway, SC clinics supplied cord blood and tissues to Stephen Goldfinch and Yair Adereth for Caledonia Consulting.
(8) A small portion of the money received by Dr.Dammai was later evidenced to be linked to sales by Fredda Branyon. That portion is included in a total of $55,200 returned to Fredda Branyon by Dr.Dammai. In any case, ALL money received by Dr.Dammai between 2006-10 was RULED as legally earned.
(9) Public following this case must read the plea carefully before relying on online sources, including these DOJ and FDA press releases. Malicious false witness can seriously damage Dr.Dammai's efforts to regain normalcy after a draining 3-year legal battle. It is important to realize that the misdemeanor plea is a lawful resolution based on the large body of evidence and facts related to Dr.Dammai's technology development and consulting activities beginning 2006 and ending in 2010. Considering the significant amount of time and effort that went into formulating a congruous resolution, the integrity of the legal process is only ensured by faithful reproduction of the content of superseding information, plea document and plea proceedings in court, and not by psittacism, falsehoods and classless chatter devoid of higher-order social values.
CASE CLOSED: US magistrate judge Hon.Frances Stacy presided over the hearing held on January 27, 2014 to review evidence and RULE on those charges contested by Dr.Dammai. After reviewing evidence from both sides, Hon.Frances Stacy RULED against government's claims on conspiracy and other charges, and dismissed all previous indictments and counts. The judge closed the case as a class B misdemeanor with a $500 fine and temporary restriction on stem cell work (all restrictions ended on June 9th, 2015). The judge also RULED all money received by Dr.Dammai between 2006-2010 as legal earnings. With no pending issues, the case was closed and all legal actions ended.
For general public unfamiliar with the scientific and legal jargon of this case, Dr.Dammai's case can be viewed as: conspiracy charge related to government's false narrative constituted 85% of the case, and technical violation of inadequate packaging documents/labels related to 'mislabeling' of biological material sent to Branyon accounted for 15% of the case. The biological material sent to Fredda Branyon was NOT sales related. Dr.Dammai agreed with the 15% 'mislabeling' violation, as per the July 30, 2013 plea, which is a class B misdemeanor. Dr.Dammai disagreed with the remaining 85% of the case and on January 27, 2014, finding conclusive evidence AGAINST the false charges brought forth by the government, judge Francis Stacy dismissed all charges related to the 85% portion.
*Earlier on the same day (January 27, 2014), Hon.Frances Stacy ended Dr.Ramon's case by imposing a $1000 fine and 2-yr probation for his plea resolution to FDA 'mislabeling' misdemeanor, which is also NOT linked to F.M and L.S case.
*Court records show that Fredda Branyon withdrew her guilty plea to count-one felony misbranding (entered on 8/18/2011) and instead pleaded to a superseding single-count of 'mislabeling'. As a result, Branyon's case also concluded as a misdemeanor on 5/17/2014 with a $1000 fine and 1-yr probation.
Involvement of SC Senator Stephen Goldfinch in stem cells case:
Beginning with a mention in Fredda Branyon's plea (8/18/2011), Caledonia Consulting Company LLC (SCSOS) is referred to at various stages of this case. Caledonia operated between February 2006-December 2008 and was co-owned by Stephen Goldfinch and Yair Adereth (previously at GE Biotech Technologies, Tel Aviv, Israel and worked briefly for VAYU Sense, Israel). Stephen Goldfinch and Yair Adereth sold purified stem cells to snake oil doctors as part of a multi-year/multi-state criminal operation that promoted use of the stem cells to treat incurable diseases in desperately ill patients (click here for more). In 2008, Goldfinch and Adereth decided to sell their illegal operations for a quick profit. To accomplish this, Stephen Goldfinch and Yair Adereth obtained by deceit few photographs of scientific equipment and facilities of a local university (MUSC), enabling them to support their fraudulent claims to a prospective buyer (Fredda Branyon), that they owned a sophisticated stem cell research and production facility in Charleston, which was factually a lie. This cunning trickery worked and Stephen Goldfinch and Yair Adereth successfully managed to sell Caledonia Consulting for $1.5 million to Fredda Branyon and, in addition, sold Caledonia's entire stem cell inventory to Branyon for a further sum of approximately $300,000. DOJ, FBI and FDA covered up this crucial fact, the biggest piece of the puzzle in this case, to protect Goldfinch. Stephen Goldfinch was the main person that illegally marketed, sold and shipped stem cells across state lines to Fredda Branyon, Francisco Morales, David Steenblock and others throughout the 3 year period of the Goldfinch scam business. The historical facts on how Fredda Branyon got stem cells from Stephen Goldfinch was covered up by DOJ, FBI and FDA for many years until FITSnews broke the story on Goldfinch's stem cell scam in October, 2013.
FITSnews first exposed (stem cell probe) Stephen Goldfinch and Yair Adereth's activities with Francisco Morales (and others) on October 7th 2013, forcing DOJ to file criminal information on Stephen Goldfinch Jr. one month later. Yair Adereth quickly left USA to Israel, avoiding criminal charges. Criminal information filed by DOJ showed that Stephen Goldfinch sold and shipped stem cells to Francisco Morales throughout the 3-yr period between 2006-2008. Stephen Goldfinch reportedly "bragged about making 5 million dollars off the sale and distribution of stem cells in Texas." Dr.Dammai's involvement with Caledonia was strictly confined to technology development and is accounted for in the plea. Dr.Dammai had NO knowledge of Caledonia's various clients and their activities. Stephen Golfinch and Yair Adereth were in direct phone and email contact with doctors who administered stem cells to desperately ill patients, visited the medical facilities operated by these doctors and closely coordinated operations with these doctors, clearly a conspiracy that DOJ, FDA and FBI worked hard to cover up. Due to the active status of this investigation Dr.Dammai will refrain from making clarifications on this issue.
Federal investigators (FDA and FBI) have had detailed knowledge of all Caledonia's operations since the investigation began in 2010, but only moved to file criminal information on Stephen Goldfinch in late 2013 after FITSnews published a pioneering investigative report exposing Goldfinch's main role in the stem cell scam with Francisco Morales and others. Stephen Goldfinch told South Strand News that the prosecutor assigned to this case "had no choice but to go forward with the case", and the prosecutor apologized to Stephen Goldfinch and his wife for making that decision. Stephen Goldfinch plans to plead guilty to federal charges contained in the 'criminal information', signaling his agreement with the criminal charges filed in Texas. Dr.Dammai has responded appropriately to Goldfinch's tall tales told to Georgetown Times and other media outlets to deceive public: The State, Coastal Observer, Jack Lamson (WPDE, Carolina Live), Meg Kinnard (AP) and Rick Brundrett (The Nerve).
Stephen Goldfinch's insouciant re-election campaign, and the unscrupulous lies and craven false witness about his criminal charges (1, 2, 3 WPDE interview) attracted significant statewide attention during the SC House District 108 elections, 2014. In the final analysis, public at large was accurately informed by FITSnews coverage of the case that Goldfinch's miserable life is built on fraud, crime, deceit and lies.
Related news resources are here: He is staying put; A Problem; Suspension Urged; Avoid Rally with GOP Lawmaker; Almost
As DMSC was entering into contractual agreements, a federal case unsealed in late December 2011 falsely charged Dr.Dammai in a conspiracy to use stem cells to treat MS, ALS, Parkinson's and 'other autoimmune disorders'. Government alleged these events occurred prior to 2010. The case is directly linked to the criminal activities of South Carolina State Senator Stephen Lewis Goldfinch Jr. who, through a company called Caledonia Consulting LLC, illegally supplied (without Dr.Dammai's knowledge) stem cells produced for research purposes to clinicians for treating patients (click here). FDA, FBI and DOJ carefully crafted a twisted narrative of the facts to cover-up Stephen Goldfinch's leading role in the scam and shift blame onto others, until a pioneering investigative report by FITSnews exposed Goldfinch's scam, forcing DOJ to file charges on Stephen Goldfinch. Individuals charged in this case variously resolved their charges. [Dr. Dammai's case ended with $500 fine for 'mislabeling', a FDA class B misdemeanor for not labeling vials stating "for research use only" and "not for human use", a technical violation that could have prevented misuse]. All other charges were DISMISSED. See CASE CLOSED below.
Intentional commingling of this case with another unrelated high-profile 24-count indictment was used to spread a false narrative that Dr.Dammai had direct/indirect links with F.M and L.S. Official sources widely disseminated degenerate statements and heady and lucrative stories (USDOJ, FDA), prompting emboldened and sensational writings/communications by media, lay persons and nescient 'experts', distorting public perception at will. Importantly, the topic of money was embellished to create a false impression that Dr.Dammai financially benefited from the alleged treatments. DOJ, FDA and FBI abandoned the principles of equal justice enshrined in our constitution and exploited the opportunity to advance their agenda (see link here). These events and deliberate false propaganda to sow prejudice scorn the fundamental right to due process of law and defeat the rightful benefits of pursuit of justice. [Federal prosecutors quietly concluded that Dr. Dammai was NOT involved in F.M/L.S case. By mid-2012, F.M/L.S case was announced as a 'separate case' and pleas in that case were obtained in September, 2012. It is not clear if other 'unnamed co-conspirators' in the F.M/L.S case will ever be prosecuted.]
Dr.Dammai's Case Resolution: On July 30, 2013, based on government's interpretation of biologics regulations as applied to stem cells, Dr.Dammai agreed to a narrowly applied FDA misdemeanor, specifically: "stem cells and packaging did not contain any directions for use", a 'mislabeling' violation incurred during technology development.
Dr.Dammai disagreed with the government on all other charges. Those charges were confronted at a hearing on January 27, 2014, resulting in the charges being DISMISSED by federal judge. The judge also RULED all income received by Dr.Dammai as legal earnings. [CASE CLOSED; Public Statements]
However, DOJ and FDA's press releases regarding the plea contains canards, errors and distortions. In light of continuing efforts at the time by Dr.Dammai's attorneys to seek a verdict on the unresolved charges at an impending hearing (held on January 27, 2014), these factually false press releases circumvented due process by making gross misrepresentations of the plea document and court proceedings. For example, the press release headline reads "..plea to introducing stem cells into interstate commerce", which is factually a lie. Dr.Dammai's plea was for mislabeling and not for any interstate commerce, which involves a sale transaction, and Dr.Dammai never sold, while Goldfinch did sell across state lines. Some others are pointed out below:
(1) 'Mislabeling' was enforced in Dr.Dammai's case as a strict-liability for not providing adequate labels. It carried a maximum fine of $1000. Dr.Dammai had no knowledge of FM's activities.
(2) Strategic mention of ALS, MS and Parkinson's in the press releases intentionally perpetuates the false narrative and (false) links with F.M and L.S case. These diseases are not mentioned in Dr.Dammai's plea and superseding information. Further, government's latest version of F.M/L.S case (here) differs vastly from the original DOJ story (here), including the money involved. Dr.Dammai was NOT involved with F.M and L.S.
(3) The press releases state: "Dammai acknowledged he was ONLY authorized to conduct research in kidney cancer." FALSE. Dr.Dammai had multiple ongoing research studies related to kidney cancers as well as stem cell-related projects.
(4) The press releases states: During the plea....Dammai also admitted he "did not have any 'formal training' in how to process stem cells." Dr.Dammai DID NOT admit any such thing in the court or in plea document. Public can verify this fact from the plea document and court transcript. Dr. Dammai's technical expertise is evidenced by: research in Dr.Dammai's laboratory for over 5 years, stem cell related grants with Dr.Dammai as the principle investigator (and scored as 'Excellent' by experts) and publications under revision.
(5) F.M is mentioned as a "co-conspirator" despite specific exclusion of such highly objectionable conspiratorial language in the legally valid plea agreement and superseding information. Dr.Dammai DID NOT enter into conspiracy with F.M, as explained by Dr.Dammai's attorney to Prentiss Findlay of The Post and Courier regarding the plea (Public Statements). Dr.Dammai NEVER sold or shipped stem cells to F.M.
(6) DOJ falsely represents Dr.Dammai by continuing to conceal the truth that unknown to Dr.Dammai, Stephen Goldfinch and Yair Adereth (Caledonia Consulting) were the main suppliers of stem cells to F.Morales (and others). Goldfinch and Adereth made $ 5 million from their stem cell operations.
(7) DOJ altered the truth about source of cord blood and stem cells to shift blame away from Goldfinch. For example, contrary to DOJ press releases (here and here), Dr. Ramon was never involved with Caledonia Consulting. FITSnews reported two Conway, SC clinics supplied cord blood and tissues to Stephen Goldfinch and Yair Adereth for Caledonia Consulting.
(8) A small portion of the money received by Dr.Dammai was later evidenced to be linked to sales by Fredda Branyon. That portion is included in a total of $55,200 returned to Fredda Branyon by Dr.Dammai. In any case, ALL money received by Dr.Dammai between 2006-10 was RULED as legally earned.
(9) Public following this case must read the plea carefully before relying on online sources, including these DOJ and FDA press releases. Malicious false witness can seriously damage Dr.Dammai's efforts to regain normalcy after a draining 3-year legal battle. It is important to realize that the misdemeanor plea is a lawful resolution based on the large body of evidence and facts related to Dr.Dammai's technology development and consulting activities beginning 2006 and ending in 2010. Considering the significant amount of time and effort that went into formulating a congruous resolution, the integrity of the legal process is only ensured by faithful reproduction of the content of superseding information, plea document and plea proceedings in court, and not by psittacism, falsehoods and classless chatter devoid of higher-order social values.
CASE CLOSED: US magistrate judge Hon.Frances Stacy presided over the hearing held on January 27, 2014 to review evidence and RULE on those charges contested by Dr.Dammai. After reviewing evidence from both sides, Hon.Frances Stacy RULED against government's claims on conspiracy and other charges, and dismissed all previous indictments and counts. The judge closed the case as a class B misdemeanor with a $500 fine and temporary restriction on stem cell work (all restrictions ended on June 9th, 2015). The judge also RULED all money received by Dr.Dammai between 2006-2010 as legal earnings. With no pending issues, the case was closed and all legal actions ended.
For general public unfamiliar with the scientific and legal jargon of this case, Dr.Dammai's case can be viewed as: conspiracy charge related to government's false narrative constituted 85% of the case, and technical violation of inadequate packaging documents/labels related to 'mislabeling' of biological material sent to Branyon accounted for 15% of the case. The biological material sent to Fredda Branyon was NOT sales related. Dr.Dammai agreed with the 15% 'mislabeling' violation, as per the July 30, 2013 plea, which is a class B misdemeanor. Dr.Dammai disagreed with the remaining 85% of the case and on January 27, 2014, finding conclusive evidence AGAINST the false charges brought forth by the government, judge Francis Stacy dismissed all charges related to the 85% portion.
*Earlier on the same day (January 27, 2014), Hon.Frances Stacy ended Dr.Ramon's case by imposing a $1000 fine and 2-yr probation for his plea resolution to FDA 'mislabeling' misdemeanor, which is also NOT linked to F.M and L.S case.
*Court records show that Fredda Branyon withdrew her guilty plea to count-one felony misbranding (entered on 8/18/2011) and instead pleaded to a superseding single-count of 'mislabeling'. As a result, Branyon's case also concluded as a misdemeanor on 5/17/2014 with a $1000 fine and 1-yr probation.
Involvement of SC Senator Stephen Goldfinch in stem cells case:
Beginning with a mention in Fredda Branyon's plea (8/18/2011), Caledonia Consulting Company LLC (SCSOS) is referred to at various stages of this case. Caledonia operated between February 2006-December 2008 and was co-owned by Stephen Goldfinch and Yair Adereth (previously at GE Biotech Technologies, Tel Aviv, Israel and worked briefly for VAYU Sense, Israel). Stephen Goldfinch and Yair Adereth sold purified stem cells to snake oil doctors as part of a multi-year/multi-state criminal operation that promoted use of the stem cells to treat incurable diseases in desperately ill patients (click here for more). In 2008, Goldfinch and Adereth decided to sell their illegal operations for a quick profit. To accomplish this, Stephen Goldfinch and Yair Adereth obtained by deceit few photographs of scientific equipment and facilities of a local university (MUSC), enabling them to support their fraudulent claims to a prospective buyer (Fredda Branyon), that they owned a sophisticated stem cell research and production facility in Charleston, which was factually a lie. This cunning trickery worked and Stephen Goldfinch and Yair Adereth successfully managed to sell Caledonia Consulting for $1.5 million to Fredda Branyon and, in addition, sold Caledonia's entire stem cell inventory to Branyon for a further sum of approximately $300,000. DOJ, FBI and FDA covered up this crucial fact, the biggest piece of the puzzle in this case, to protect Goldfinch. Stephen Goldfinch was the main person that illegally marketed, sold and shipped stem cells across state lines to Fredda Branyon, Francisco Morales, David Steenblock and others throughout the 3 year period of the Goldfinch scam business. The historical facts on how Fredda Branyon got stem cells from Stephen Goldfinch was covered up by DOJ, FBI and FDA for many years until FITSnews broke the story on Goldfinch's stem cell scam in October, 2013.
FITSnews first exposed (stem cell probe) Stephen Goldfinch and Yair Adereth's activities with Francisco Morales (and others) on October 7th 2013, forcing DOJ to file criminal information on Stephen Goldfinch Jr. one month later. Yair Adereth quickly left USA to Israel, avoiding criminal charges. Criminal information filed by DOJ showed that Stephen Goldfinch sold and shipped stem cells to Francisco Morales throughout the 3-yr period between 2006-2008. Stephen Goldfinch reportedly "bragged about making 5 million dollars off the sale and distribution of stem cells in Texas." Dr.Dammai's involvement with Caledonia was strictly confined to technology development and is accounted for in the plea. Dr.Dammai had NO knowledge of Caledonia's various clients and their activities. Stephen Golfinch and Yair Adereth were in direct phone and email contact with doctors who administered stem cells to desperately ill patients, visited the medical facilities operated by these doctors and closely coordinated operations with these doctors, clearly a conspiracy that DOJ, FDA and FBI worked hard to cover up. Due to the active status of this investigation Dr.Dammai will refrain from making clarifications on this issue.
Federal investigators (FDA and FBI) have had detailed knowledge of all Caledonia's operations since the investigation began in 2010, but only moved to file criminal information on Stephen Goldfinch in late 2013 after FITSnews published a pioneering investigative report exposing Goldfinch's main role in the stem cell scam with Francisco Morales and others. Stephen Goldfinch told South Strand News that the prosecutor assigned to this case "had no choice but to go forward with the case", and the prosecutor apologized to Stephen Goldfinch and his wife for making that decision. Stephen Goldfinch plans to plead guilty to federal charges contained in the 'criminal information', signaling his agreement with the criminal charges filed in Texas. Dr.Dammai has responded appropriately to Goldfinch's tall tales told to Georgetown Times and other media outlets to deceive public: The State, Coastal Observer, Jack Lamson (WPDE, Carolina Live), Meg Kinnard (AP) and Rick Brundrett (The Nerve).
Stephen Goldfinch's insouciant re-election campaign, and the unscrupulous lies and craven false witness about his criminal charges (1, 2, 3 WPDE interview) attracted significant statewide attention during the SC House District 108 elections, 2014. In the final analysis, public at large was accurately informed by FITSnews coverage of the case that Goldfinch's miserable life is built on fraud, crime, deceit and lies.
Related news resources are here: He is staying put; A Problem; Suspension Urged; Avoid Rally with GOP Lawmaker; Almost