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.

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 US Federal Trade Commission asked a federal court in Seattle on Wednesday to delay a September trial in its case alleging Amazon misled consumers over its Prime subscription service, citing “severe resource shortfalls in terms of both money and personnel.