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Defense Seeks Mistrial For Former BP Engineer

Attorneys for a former BP drilling engineer have asked the judge in the case to declare a mistrial. In a filing Tuesday, Kurt Mix's attorneys argued a prosecutor's questioning of a witness on Monday amounted to injecting unsupported accusations of misconduct against Mix.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Attorneys for a former BP drilling engineer have asked the judge in the case to declare a mistrial.

In a filing Tuesday, Kurt Mix's attorneys argued a prosecutor's questioning of a witness on Monday amounted to injecting unsupported accusations of misconduct against Mix.

A hearing on the request for a mistrial is set for Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr.

Mix is charged with obstruction of justice. Prosecutors say he deleted text messages and voicemails about the company's response to its massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The questioning of witness Wilson Arabie centered on allegations Mix ordered copies of spill-related documents for improper purposes. Defense attorneys say an earlier court order precluded prosecutors from raising the document-copying issue.

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