NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- A former BP engineer charged with deleting text messages about how much oil was leaking from the company's blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico claims evidence federal investigators did not possess will prove his innocence.
In court documents, Kurt Mix asks U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo to review evidence from an unnamed third party that he says can fully exonerate him.
The documents, filed Monday in New Orleans, say FBI agents did not see the information because it was considered privileged under a client-lawyer agreement. The court documents did not identify the third party or the evidence.
Mix has pleaded not guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice. Each count is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
