Trump Team Distances Family From Conservation Fundraiser

— -- President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is distancing the Trump family from a fundraiser scheduled for Inauguration Weekend organized by a nonprofit appearing to offer access to the president in exchange for donations.

The Jan. 21 conservation fundraiser, of which Eric and Donald Trump Jr. are honorary co-chairmen, was planning to offer private receptions with Trump in exchange for $1 million contributions to the nonprofit Opening Day Foundation, according to an initial brochure first reported by TMZ and confirmed by ABC News.

Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks issued a statement Tuesday distancing the family from the event.

“The Opening Day event and details that have been reported are merely initial concepts that have not been approved or pursued by the Trump family,” Hicks said. “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."

But Mark Brinkerhoff, a spokesperson for the event, said both Eric and Donald Trump Jr. plan to attend the event.

Brinkerhoff would not confirm Trump’s attendance, but called it the “best-case scenario,” and said “that would be great.”

Initially, the organizers appeared to be planning to offer donors who gave $1 million a “private reception” for 16 guests with then-President Donald Trump, along with a multiday hunting or fishing trip with Don Jr. or Eric, according to the initial draft of the brochure.

But a revised brochure for the event obtained by ABC News makes no reference to the president and instead promises contributors a “private reception and photo opportunity for 16 guests with VIPs and celebrities” in exchange for $1 million in donations. However, the new brochure still prominently references the Trump family.

“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,” it reads. “Join us as we celebrate conservation -- America’s outdoor heritage.”

Organizers haven’t specified which conservation groups will receive money from the organization.

The nonprofit foundation organizing the event was first registered in a Dec. 14 filing with the Texas secretary of state. Both Eric and Donald Trump Jr. were listed as members of the foundation’s board of directors, along with Gentry Beach and Tom Hicks Jr., who both serve on the Trump inauguration finance committee, according to a copy of the filing obtained by ABC News. As a nonprofit, the Opening Day Foundation is not required to reveal its donors.

Eric and Donald Trump Jr. were not aware that they were named in the new nonprofit, according to a senior Trump transition official with direct knowledge of the episode. They have asked the Texas secretary of state to remove them from the filing. Brinkerhoff said the two should not have been listed on the filing.

After seeing the initial draft of the brochure, ethics experts questioned the propriety of offering donors access to the president on his first full day in office.

"Access to the president shouldn’t be auctioned off," said Richard Painter, a University of Minnesota Law School professor and former White House ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush. "The focus shouldn’t be on getting money, the focus should be on being an effective president."

Larry Noble, the general counsel for the Campaign Legal Center, said the event as initially advertised resembled “the classic setup to try and sell getting close to the president and his family," which was the kind of criticism that followed Hillary Clinton and her ties to her family's Clinton Foundation.

The president-elect has said he will turn over his business interests to his sons for management during his presidency. The transition team is expected to announce more details of the arrangement next month, after postponing a news conference planned for Dec. 15.

Singer Toby Keith and the band Alabama are set to perform at the event at the Walter E. Washington Center in downtown Washington, D.C.

ABC News' John Santucci and Katherine Faulders contributed to this report.