Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — President-elect Donald Trump’s eldest sons are now expected to skip an inauguration weekend fundraiser, according to transition sources, after questions emerged about the group offer of access to Trump to anonymous donors.
Billed as a benefit to raise money for unnamed conservation charities, the “Camouflage & Cufflinks” event planned for Jan. 21 had initially promised donors access to the Trump family, according to a draft invitation first obtained by TMZ and confirmed by ABC News.
Ethics experts were skeptical of the event and the group, which will not be required to disclose its donors and is in the process of applying for status as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
“It looks like the classic set up to try and sell getting close to the president and his family,” Larry Noble, the general counsel of the Campaign Legal Center, said of the initial invitation and offer to donors.
On Wednesday, the Trump team said Eric and Donald Trump Jr. would no longer be attending the event, which touted their appearance and listed them as “honorary co-chairmen.” “They are not going – period,” a senior transition source told ABC News.
The Opening Day Foundation, which organized the event, listed the Trump sons as directors in a filing with the Texas Secretary of State’s office last week. Neither was aware they were named, according to a senior Trump transition official with direct knowledge of the episode.
They asked the secretary of state to remove them from the filing, and are no longer listed as managers of the foundation. The lawyer who filed the corporate registration form for Opening Day listing the Trumps could not immediately be reached for comment.
Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks said Tuesday that the Trumps had not approved the early draft invitation, which said donors who contribute $500,000 or $1 million would get private receptions with President-elect Trump, as well as a multi-day hunting or fishing trip with one or both of his sons.
An amended invitation obtained by ABC News on Tuesday afternoon still listed hunting or fishing trips with the Trump sons in exchange for $500,000 or $1 million contributions, but said donors would get private receptions with “VIP’s and celebrities,” rather than the 45th president.
The updated invitation also touted the family’s involvement in the event.
“Opening Day is your opportunity to play a significant role as our family commemorates the inauguration of our father and friend, President Donald J. Trump,” the invitation reads. “Join us as we celebrate conservation – America’s outdoor heritage.”
Despite the Trump transition teams repudiation, the family’s role in the event remained unclear as late as Wednesday morning.
Mark Brinkerhoff, a spokesman for the event, said in an interview Tuesday that Eric and Donald Jr. were “confirmed to be there” on Inauguration Weekend.
But on Wednesday, he said, “As honorary chairman, they are invited guests. They can show up if they want to show up.”
Gentry Beach, a director of the Opening Day Foundation and co-chair of the event, did not respond to questions from ABC News about the Trump sons’ involvement, and whether donors will still receive hunting or fishing trips with them in exchange for contributions.
Beach is close to Donald Jr., as is Tommy Hicks Jr., a Dallas businessman and co-chair of the event. Hicks did not respond to a request for comment.
Copyright © 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.