Ex-BP Engineer Loses Bid To Get Details On Charges

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal magistrate has ruled that prosecutors aren't required to provide defense attorneys with more details regarding the charges against a former BP engineer accused of deleting text messages about the company's response to the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

U.S. Magistrate Sally Shushan's order Tuesday says Kurt Mix's indictment provides his lawyers with sufficient information to prepare his defense and to "avoid surprise" at trial.

Mix's attorneys were pressing prosecutors to explain how their client allegedly impeded a grand jury probe by deleting text messages with a supervisor and a BP contractor. They also sought a court order requiring prosecutors to specify which deleted texts form the basis for the obstruction-of-justice charges against him.