Jennifer Jacobs, The Des Moines Register

An Iowa evangelical leader stood on stage at the Family Leadership Summit Saturday and told the 1,200 conservatives in the audience and dozens of reporters that U.S. Sen. Rand Paul had told him he couldn't be at the event because of a "family commitment."

Then the New York Post's "Page Six" published the news that Paul was in the Hamptons on Saturday with Alec Baldwin. Paul was "among the intellectual elite" at a fundraiser for a library in East Hampton that Baldwin co-sponsored, the column says.

It raised some eyebrows in Iowa. Had Paul skipped the Family Leadership Summit, an event that served as an early audition for five other potential GOP presidential candidates, because of a family obligation or another reason?

Aides for Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, told The Des Moines Register Tuesday evening that Paul and his wife, Kelley, did indeed have a family commitment. It was in New York, and they took one of their three sons with them. The party with Baldwin was just an extra event on the itinerary for the weekend.

Paul and his family stopped by the library fundraiser Saturday night at the request of their publisher/editor, said Doug Stafford, Paul's political adviser.

Kate Hartson of Hachette Book Group publishes Paul and his father and will soon release a book by his wife, Bloomberg News reported. "(Hartson) has a home in Hampton Bays and spent the weekend with the Pauls, including a boat tour and fishing in Montauk," Bloomberg said.

Bob Vander Plaats, president of the Family Leader, an organization that pushes for Christian conservative principles in government, initially said, "From my perspective, there are always choices to be made of where do you want to be and what message do you want to send. If you want to be at a fundraiser in the Hamptons with the rich and famous, you probably ought to tell people you want to be at a fundraiser in the Hamptons with the rich and famous."

But he also told the Register that family obligations are a legitimate excuse.

Paul was a sponsor of the Family Leadership Summit and sent a video — a compilation of his recent pro-life speeches — to be shown at the event.

And after the Register reached out to the Paul team Tuesday, an aide emailed Vander Plaats to reassure him the senator did have a family commitment in New York.

"I guess I can understand as Darla and I have a family commitment in New York beginning tomorrow," Vander Plaats said, referring to his wife.

Democrat Hillary Clinton was also in the Hamptons at a fundraiser Saturday; hers was for the Clinton Foundation. Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, another Republican eying a presidential bid, will be in the Hamptons for a fundraiser later this week.