FTC lawyer Jonathan Cohen asked a federal judge during a hearing on Wednesday to delay the September trial and relax deadlines in the case, citing budgetary and staffing shortfalls. But Cohen did an about-face later in the day, telling U.S. District Judge John Chun in a brief letter that the statements he made in court were incorrect.

The Federal Trade Commission is in a "dire resource situation," a federal lawyer said on a call about its major lawsuit against Amazon. Within hours, he retracted the claim.

The Federal Trade Commission yesterday asked a court for extra time before proceeding on a case against Amazon, claiming its resources are too constrained, before reversing course just hours later. Why it matters: This suggests that the FTC may struggle to meet its responsibilities,