A top Mar-a-Lago employee is also working for the government to help prepare for President Trump's visit to Taormina, Italy, for the G-7 Summit an unconventional arrangement that further blurs the line between the president's business empire and the White House.
Heather Rinkus, the guest reception manager at Trump's "Winter White House," is working with the president's advance and logistics team, while Trump's exclusive club, Mar-a-Lago, closes for the summer. She has an official White House email and government-issued phone, two sources familiar with Rinkuss trip told BuzzFeed News.
An administration source confirmed to BuzzFeed News on Wednesday that Rinkus was officially listed as an advance associate for the Taormina leg of the trip and had government-issued blackberry and email.
She is married to a twice-convicted felon, Ari Rinkus, who is known to brag about his wife's access to the president as he trawls for investors and pursues government contracts on behalf of a foreign company, BuzzFeed News previously detailed.
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Her dual role is the latest example of how closely intertwined the president's inner circle is between his business and government, despite Trump's claims of a firewall.
It also raises questions of whether other Trump Organization employees are quietly employed by the White House, as the administration struggles to staff up amid a chaotic few weeks. Trump, who likes to be surrounded by aides who are loyal to him, has already brought in senior adviser Hope Hicks, his longtime bodyguard Keith Schiller, and his social media director Dan Scavino from the Trump Organization.
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Heather Rinkuss new role also provides more evidence of the familys closeness to the administration, as her husband tries to use that access for personal gain.
Ari Rinkus, who is still on probation for pleading guilty to wire fraud as part of a Ponzi scheme, has told a foreign company, Securablinds, he can use Heather's access to the president to secure government and Trump Organization contracts, BuzzFeed News previously reported.
Gavin Richardson, the CEO of UK-based Securablinds, contacted BuzzFeed News after reading the story and said Rinkus presented himself to the company's executives as "well-connected with the Trump family," claiming he could get a contract for the company to put its blinds in Trump Tower.
"He told us he discussed it with Eric Trump, he said, referring to one of Trump's sons.
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Heather Rinkus started working for Mar-a-Lago in 2015. She had previously worked for the Amway Hotel Corporation, which is owned by the family of Trump's education secretary, Betsy DeVos, as a front desk supervisor and later as a nanny.
Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/tarinipart...ernment-work?utm_term=.ikEyyVol12#.hgBdd5l06V
Heather Rinkus, the guest reception manager at Trump's "Winter White House," is working with the president's advance and logistics team, while Trump's exclusive club, Mar-a-Lago, closes for the summer. She has an official White House email and government-issued phone, two sources familiar with Rinkuss trip told BuzzFeed News.
An administration source confirmed to BuzzFeed News on Wednesday that Rinkus was officially listed as an advance associate for the Taormina leg of the trip and had government-issued blackberry and email.
She is married to a twice-convicted felon, Ari Rinkus, who is known to brag about his wife's access to the president as he trawls for investors and pursues government contracts on behalf of a foreign company, BuzzFeed News previously detailed.
....
Her dual role is the latest example of how closely intertwined the president's inner circle is between his business and government, despite Trump's claims of a firewall.
It also raises questions of whether other Trump Organization employees are quietly employed by the White House, as the administration struggles to staff up amid a chaotic few weeks. Trump, who likes to be surrounded by aides who are loyal to him, has already brought in senior adviser Hope Hicks, his longtime bodyguard Keith Schiller, and his social media director Dan Scavino from the Trump Organization.
....
Heather Rinkuss new role also provides more evidence of the familys closeness to the administration, as her husband tries to use that access for personal gain.
Ari Rinkus, who is still on probation for pleading guilty to wire fraud as part of a Ponzi scheme, has told a foreign company, Securablinds, he can use Heather's access to the president to secure government and Trump Organization contracts, BuzzFeed News previously reported.
Gavin Richardson, the CEO of UK-based Securablinds, contacted BuzzFeed News after reading the story and said Rinkus presented himself to the company's executives as "well-connected with the Trump family," claiming he could get a contract for the company to put its blinds in Trump Tower.
"He told us he discussed it with Eric Trump, he said, referring to one of Trump's sons.
....
Heather Rinkus started working for Mar-a-Lago in 2015. She had previously worked for the Amway Hotel Corporation, which is owned by the family of Trump's education secretary, Betsy DeVos, as a front desk supervisor and later as a nanny.
Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/tarinipart...ernment-work?utm_term=.ikEyyVol12#.hgBdd5l06V
