By Haleluya Hadero
Federal Trade Commission lawyers have returned comments on the lack of resources and staff turnover rates that have hindered the agency’s preparation for trials involving Amazon’s Prime Program.
FTC lawyer Jonathan Cohen asked a federal judge at a hearing Wednesday to delay the September trial and ease the deadline citing shortages in budget and staffing.
However, Cohen did something troublesome later that day, informing District Judge John Chun in a simple letter that the statement he made in court was incorrect.
“I want to clarify what I made today: I was wrong,” Cohen wrote in the letter. “The committee has no resource constraints and is ready to sue this case.”
In a statement sent to the Associated Press on Thursday, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said “the lawyer was wrong.”
“We’ve made it clear from the first day that we’re committed to the resources needed for this case,” Ferguson said, adding that the FTC “will never step back from acquiring big technology.”
An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment on the agency’s reversal.
Cohen made the original comment while trying to postpone a trial arising from a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit that accused Amazon of registering consumers with the Prime program without consent, making it difficult for them to cancel their subscription.
When demands came amid Elon Musk’s government efficiency, or Doge’s cost-cutting efforts, the judge asked whether the cuts in federal agencies’ budgets and staff had an impact on FTC preparations.
Cohen said some employees have chosen to leave the FTC following a “road fork” email sent by the administration in January. He said staff who resigned for other reasons have also not been replaced due to the government’s employment freeze.
He also cited court documents and restrictive rules regarding the purchase of travel.
Original issue: March 13, 2025, 1:55pm
