Ex-Obama Spokesman Snapped Up By Amazon

Jay Carney, the man who spoke on behalf of President Barack Obama for more than three years, has been snapped up by Amazon.

Amazon boss Jeff Bezos bought the financially ailing Washington Post in 2013 and now he's locked down another big name from the US capital.

The 49-year-old former White House press secretary becomes vice president for global corporate affairs, a role which reports directly to Mr Bezos.

The role will see him oversee the company's public relations and public policy teams.

Amazon is currently wrangling with federal regulations on the use of drones to deliver items to customers.

The current Federal Aviation Administration proposal effectively rules out Amazon's planned use of autonomous drones for delivery.

But by hiring a well-connected Washington insider, the company will hope to use his expertise and connections to see the proposals amended or dropped.

Mr Carney is a former reporter for The Miami Herald and Time (NYSE: TIME - news) magazine, and served as press secretary from February 2011 until June 2014.

He took on a role as a political commentator for CNN last year, a position he will now give up as a result of the Amazon job.

At one point it was rumoured that Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL - news) wanted to bring Mr Carney in as its head of PR.