Update: WAIT! Now AOL Says Mike Arrington Is Still An Employee – In The Business Development Division

Earlier: TechCrunch founder and editor Michael Arrington is "not employed by AOL" anymore, AOL Huffington Post spokesperson Mario Ruiz tells us.

This clarifies the situation we reported earlier: That TechCrunch founder Mike Arrington was out at TechCrunch but might or might not still be employed by AOL's venture arm, "AOL Ventures."

Arianna Huffington, AOL's president and editor-in-chief, told us earlier that Mr. Arrington no longer worked for TechCrunch or the AOL media group that she runs and that his "relationship" was now with AOL Ventures. Now it appears that that this relationship is not an employment relationship, but a business relationship.

Mr. Arrington's status today appears to be a sharp change from yesterday, when the New York Times reported that Mike Arrington would still be employed by TechCrunch and would report to Ms. Huffington.

The statements made by Ms. Huffington and Mr. Ruiz this morning also appear to contradict statements made by AOL CEO Tim Armstrong yesterday. Last night, when we asked Mr. Armstrong for clarification on Mr. Arrington's status at AOL, he said that Mr. Arrington had a "new role" at the company, one that had been designed to reduce concerns about conflicts of interest and make him less of an exception to AOL's editorial policies.

This begs the question: Did Ms. Huffington just unilaterally oust Mike Arrington?

We are seeking clarification on this and another important issue: The status of Mr. Arrington's $10+ million earnout, which was designed to keep him at TechCrunch--and AOL--for three years.

AOL acquired TechCrunch last year.

Arrington's sudden departure from AOL follows news yesterday that he would be launching a $20 million venture fund called the CrunchFund.

Arrington's precise status with the company has been unclear since then.

Initially, reports suggested Arrington would remain at TechCrunch and AOL with only a title change – from "editor" to "founding editor and writer."

Then, last night AOL told us it was actively looking for Arrington's replacement.

Then this morning, Arianna Huffington told us Arrington no longer worked for TechCrunch at all – that Arrington will merely be welcome to contribute unpaid blogs to the company, as long as he stays within AOL's blogging guidelines.

When AOL bought TechCrunch last year, CEO Tim Armstrong said Arrington would stick with the site for another three years, thanks to a+ $10 million earnout. This earnout was designed to assure AOL shareholders that TechCrunch's biggest asset, Mike Arrington, would remain an AOL asset. Now that Mr. Arrington has apparently completely left the company, the question is what happens to this earnout.

Asked if Arrington will still get his earnout, Mr. Ruiz answered: "I have no knowledge about the rest," and referred us to Maureen Sullivan, AOL corporate communications boss.

We will update when we get more clarification.

See Also: ARIANNA HUFFINGTON: Mike Arrington Is Out At TechCrunch