Jay Carney, President Obama’s new press secretary, received $270,000 in 2009 from former employer Time magazine, while he was working for Vice President Joe Biden. The payments included $212,000 in severance pay and a $58,000 bonus, apparently for work done in 2008.

But it’s unclear how exactly Carney ended his relationship with Time. Severances like this are typical in buyout/layoff situations, but that would be unusual here, since Carney announced his job with Biden within hours of announcing his departure from the magazine.

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