Judge to Weigh Lifting Former BP Engineer's Travel Limits

A federal magistrate has scheduled a hearing on a former BP engineer's request for permission to travel freely throughout the U.S. while he awaits a trial on charges he deleted text messages about the oil company's response to the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

U.S. Magistrate Daniel Knowles III is set to hear arguments May 29 on Kurt Mix's request.

Earlier this month, Knowles ordered Mix to limit his travel to Louisiana, Texas, Massachusetts and New York after a prosecutor claimed he had intended to leave the country for a job in Australia and wouldn't return.

Mix's attorneys argue the travel restrictions aren't warranted because prosecutors haven't shown he poses a flight risk.

Mix has pleaded not guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice.