消息人士告诉ABC新闻，前副总统迈克·彭斯拒绝了保守党政治行动会议的邀请。
彭斯正在就2024年总统竞选进行辩论，他的决定是在今年的阵容中没有其他知名人物的情况下做出的。
去年在CPAC发表演讲的佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯在得克萨斯州有两场活动，而CPAC正在马里兰州进行。
CPAC的发言人告诉美国广播公司新闻，彭斯和德桑蒂斯目前都不会出席。
“对于任何潜在的总统候选人来说，今年不在CPAC对数千名基层活动人士发表讲话，都是一个错失的机会。幸运的是，CPAC的与会者将听到每一位宣布的总统候选人和100多位首席发言者的声音，包括30多位当选官员，”CPAC的发言人梅根·鲍尔斯周六告诉美国广播公司新闻。
德桑蒂斯的发言人没有回应ABC新闻的置评请求。彭斯的发言人拒绝置评。
彭斯没有参加2022年的活动，并在2021年拒绝了邀请。今年缺席的原因是CPAC主席卷入了性侵犯丑闻，该组织自称是“世界上最大和最有影响力的保守派聚会”。
据报道，今年早些时候，前参议员候选人赫歇尔·沃克(Herschel Walker)的一名工作人员声称，CPAC的董事长马特·施拉普(Matt Schlapp)在开车送施拉普从亚特兰大的一家酒吧回来时，“摸索”并“抚摸”了他的胯部《每日野兽》的报道。这名员工随后对施拉普和他的妻子梅塞德斯提起诉讼，要求获得940万美元的性侵犯和诽谤赔偿。根据一份报告。
当时，施拉普的律师发表声明称，该投诉是“虚假的”，“施拉普和他们的法律团队正在评估反诉讼方案。”
但一些人表示，这些指控“加剧了”该组织的问题。
“CPAC不再像以前那样吸引大牌明星，这并不奇怪。共和党内有一种感觉，CPAC早已抛弃了它曾经代表的传统价值观，”一名共和党工作人员说。“对马特·施拉普(Matt Schlapp)涉嫌违背一个人的意愿‘殴打’他的‘垃圾’的指控，只会加剧这些问题，并有可能导致该组织的进一步衰落。”
尽管如此，该活动还是吸引了前总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)和妮基·黑利大使等发言人，他们都宣布参加2024年的竞选。
共和党众议员马乔里·泰勒·格林(Marjorie Taylor Greene)最近呼吁共和党和民主党之间“全国离婚”，他也计划发言。
特朗普支持的候选人卡莉·莱克(Kari Lake)在亚利桑那州竞选州长时失利，并提出了选举欺诈的虚假指控，她将成为周五晚上里根晚宴的特邀演讲人。
CPAC的声明称赞她是“一位罕见的领导人，她以诚实、大胆的信息赢得了保守派的心，包括关闭亚利桑那州边境和揭露广泛的选举舞弊。”
莱克在一段视频中说:“CPAC是保守派聚集的好地方发布在推特上上周被施拉普发现。
该活动定于3月1日至4日举行。
Mike Pence declines invitation to CPAC as event's leader comes under fire
Former Vice President Mike Pence has declined an invitation to the Conservative Political Action Conference, sources told ABC News.
The decision by Pence, who is debating a 2024 presidential run, comes as other notable figures are absent from this year's lineup.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who spoke at CPAC last year, has two events scheduled in Texas as CPAC gets underway in Maryland.
A spokesperson for CPAC told ABC News that neither Pence nor DeSantis are currently slated to attend.
"It's a missed opportunity for any potential Presidential Candidate to not address the thousands of grassroots activists at CPAC this year. Luckily, CPAC attendees will get to hear from every announced Presidential candidate and over 100 premiere speakers, including over 30 elected officials," Megan Powers, a spokesperson for CPAC, told ABC News on Saturday.
DeSantis' spokesperson did not respond to ABC News' request for comment. A spokesperson for Pence declined to comment.
Pence did not attend the event in 2022 and declined an invitation in 2021. This year's absences come as the chairman of CPAC -- which bills itself as the "largest and most influential gathering of conservatives in the world" -- is embroiled in a sexual assault scandal.
Earlier this year, a staffer for one-time Senate candidate Herschel Walker alleged that Matt Schlapp, the chairman of CPAC, "groped" and "fondled" his crotch while he was driving Schlapp back from a bar in Atlanta, according to a report from The Daily Beast. The staffer then filed a lawsuit against Schlapp and his wife, Mercedes, seeking $9.4 million for sexual battery and defamation, according to a report.
A statement from Schlapp's attorney at the time said the complaint is "false" and the "Schlapps and their legal team are assessing counter lawsuit options."
But some say the allegations have "exacerbated" issues for the organization.
"It shouldn't come as a surprise that CPAC is not attracting the big names that it once did. There's a feeling within the Republican Party that CPAC has long abandoned the traditional values that it once stood for," one GOP operative said. "The allegations against Matt Schlapp for allegedly 'pummeling' a man's 'junk' against his will have only exacerbated these issues and are likely to contribute to further decline by the organization."
Still, the event had drawn speakers such as former President Donald Trump and ambassador Nikki Haley, both of whom have declared their candidacy for 2024.
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who recently called for a "national divorce" between Republican and Democratic states, is also scheduled to speak.
Kari Lake, the Trump-backed candidate who lost her bid for governor in Arizona and pushed false claims of election fraud, will be the featured speaker for Friday night's Reagan dinner.
The CPAC announcement praised her as "a rare leader who captured the hearts of conservatives with her honest, bold message including closing the Arizona border and exposing widespread election fraud."
"CPAC is a great place for conservatives to come together, Lake said in a video posted on Twitter by Schlapp last week.
The event is scheduled to run from March 1-4.
