The Department of Justice (DOJ) left Federal Trade Commission Chairman Timothy J. Muris standing at the press conference altar Thursday afternoon when it made a last minute decision not to endorse an apparent agreement between the two agencies that would have conceded FTC anti-trust clearance review of all media, communications, publishing and entertainment industry mergers to the DOJ.

The agreement would have precluded the FTC from involvement in the upcoming merger review of AT&T and Comcast. According to press accounts and sources contacted by internetnews.com, Muris, a Bush appointee, and Charles A. James, assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, had been meeting "secretly" for some time to hammer out the details of the deal.

"It was my understanding they agreed to have a signing ceremony today (Thursday)," FTC Commissioner Mozelle W. Thompson told internetnews.com. "It was portrayed to me as a done deal."

It never happened. Reporters calling in to the FTC for the 1 p.m. press conference were put on hold for more than 30 minutes before they were told the conference was cancelled. No reason was given for the cancellation and the FTC spokesman took no questions on the matter.

"I was told the DOJ decided not to proceed with the agreement," Thompson said.

DOJ spokeswoman Gina Talamona said, "The Department of Justice strongly supports the proposed realignment of industry sectors regarding antitrust clearance. The cooperative effort between the Department and the FTC would provide greater certainty and efficiency than the current process. We are meeting with congressional staff and look forward to resolving any questions they may have so that we may implement the proposed agreement as soon as possible."

Under the Muris-James proposal, the FTC would retain anti-trust review over such industries as health care, oil, natural gas, electric power, computer hardware and biotechnology companies. The FTC would give up anti-trust review of all mergers involving Internet, software, telecommunications and entertainment companies.

Thompson said he was first informed of the agreement Monday afternoon and did not see a final draft until Thursday morning. Other sources said Muris believes the issue is an administrative matter within his purview and doesn't require the approval of the FTC commissioners.

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"Chairman Muris failed to consult with, or provide meaningful opportunity for, other commissioners to provide any input," he said. "This lack of transparency makes it difficult for the other four commissioners to discharge their obligation to determine whether consumers will actually benefit from such a significant change at this agency."

Muris thinks the proposed agreement will streamline the federal government's review of anti-trust matters by reallocating by industry the agencies' antitrust review responsibilities.

"While generally I favor interagency agreements that enhance the speed and efficiency of case processing, (this proposed) agreement raises substantial concerns," Thompson said. "First, redefining the commission's future anti-trust responsibility raises weighty issues that warrant close attention from each commissioner in order to ensure that the public interest is adequately protected. Rather than simply codifying or clarifying the existing merger review responsibilities, the agreement alters which agency will have primary responsibility for investigating both mergers and other anti-competitive practices in certain industries."

According to Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, the proposed realignment of anti-trust review between the FTC and the DOJ "threatens consumer and citizen interests." Chester characterized the FTC as more "bi-partisan and more independent" than the DOJ.

"The FTC is especially expert in media mergers involving new digital networks, as it demonstrated in the AOL TW review," Chester said. "Now authority for media mergers will be in the hands of a politically appointed official who has shown, in the Microsoft case, that DOJ is unwilling to develop serious policy approaches to ensure open and competitive digital markets."