Judge asked to dismiss ex-BP engineer's indictment

— A former BP engineer claims there were "serious, recurring defects" in the grand jury proceedings that led to his indictment on charges he deleted text messages about the company's response to its 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Kurt Mix's attorneys asked a federal judge on Monday to dismiss his indictment on two counts of obstruction of justice before a trial scheduled to start in December.

Mix's lawyers said newly disclosed transcripts show prosecutors never provided the grand jury with any evidence about the content of the text messages and voicemails that Mix is charged with deleting. They also claim prosecutors made errors in instructing the grand jury.

U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr. didn't immediately rule on Mix's latest request to dismiss the charges against him.

The Associated Press


