The Trump family is distancing itself from a January 21 fundraising event after press reports that attendees could get a meeting with President Donald Trump for $1 million.
The “Opening Day” event, scheduled for the day after Trump’s inauguration, is being put on by a foundation devoted to conservation and associated with Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.
A document filed with the state of Texas lists the two sons as “initial” directors of the Opening Day Foundation, the organization behind the event.
Details about the event first surfaced last Friday on TMZ. The entertainment site posted what it called a “draft” of an invitation.
The pamphlet advertised a “private reception” with Donald Trump, as well as a multi-day hunting trip with Donald Jr. and Eric Trump, for sponsors who picked the $500,000 “Grizzly Bear” package or $1 million “Bald Eagle” package.
In a statement Tuesday, the Trump transition team said details about the event that have been reported “are merely initial concepts that have not been approved or pursued by the Trump family.”
“Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump are avid outdoorsmen and supporters of conservation efforts, which align with the goals of this event, however they are not involved in any capacity,” the statement says.
Mark Brinkerhoff, a spokesman for the event, told CNNMoney that there was “working information that got out there that was incomplete.”
A new version of the pamphlet provided to CNNMoney by Brinkerhoff does not include references to any meeting or photo opportunities with the president. The hunting trip with the Trump sons is also gone.
The “Grizzly Bear” and “Bald Eagle” donation packages are still listed on the new version. But they now advertise a reception and photo opportunity with “VIPs and celebrities associated with the event.” Musician Toby Keith and the band Alabama will perform at the event.
The money, the pamphlet says, would benefit “conservation charities.”
The new pamphlet presents the event as “your opportunity to play a significant role as our family commemorates the inauguration of our father and friend, President Donald J. Trump.”
The TMZ story surfaced the same day the Trump Organization canceled an auction for a private meeting with Ivanka Trump after the New York Times raised questions about whether it appeared to offer bidders a special opportunity to meet with the first daughter.
The role that Trump’s two oldest sons will play at the January 21 fundraiser remains unclear.
Brinkerhoff said the two will attend as “invited guests” and “honorary co-chairman,” but added that they are not involved with organizing the fundraiser.
Gentry Beach, a co-chairman of the event and a director of the foundation, said to his knowledge, the sons are not involved in the foundation. He said the event as described by the earlier brochure “wasn’t something that we were contemplating.”
“There’s zero pay for play occurring in any of these types of things,” Beach said.
The president-elect said last week that he will turn over managerial responsibilities of his business to Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump to avoid conflicts of interest.
— CNN’s Jeremy Diamond contributed to this report.