Trump invites Obama's estranged half-brother and mother of slain Benghazi official to debate

Donald Trump has invited two eyebrow-raising guests to Wednesday's presidential debate against Hillary Clinton: President Obama's estranged half-brother and the mother of an American official who died in Benghazi, Libya.

Malik Obama, the president's half-brother, will be in Las Vegas on Wednesday for the third and final presidential debate - supporting Trump, who the president has widely criticized.

Pat Smith, whose son Sean died in the 2012 attack on a diplomatic compound in Benghazi, will also be in attendance. Smith has been a vocal critic of Clinton and delivered a speech at the Republican National Convention in July. Republicans have blamed Clinton for the tragic deaths of four American in Benghazi, though several congressional investigations have not found any evidence of it.

A senior campaign staffer confirmed that Obama and Smith would attend the debate. More surprise guests may be disclosed by the campaign on Wednesday.

Clinton is bringing billionaire and frequent Trump critic Mark Cuban and Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman, one of the former secretary of state's highest-profile Republican backers.

Trump shocked reporters and political observers last week in St. Louis when, hours before the second debate, he held a press conference with several women who had accused former president Bill Clinton of sexual abuse. The Clintons have long denied the accusations.

The Trump campaign had also sought to embarrass and distract Hillary Clinton and her husband by inviting several of the women to sit in the family box near the debate stage. That plan was ultimately barred by officials with the Commission on Presidential Debates.