http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1206/21/ijvm.01.htmlJANE VELEZ-MITCHELL
Zimmerman Recreates Trayvon`s Death
Aired June 21, 2012 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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We`re all over two huge cases tonight, and the Jerry Sandusky trial is one of them, where an explosive new revelation has just come out.
And the incredible video that we now have of George Zimmerman leading police step by step on what he says happened the night he shot and killed Trayvon Martin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VELEZ-MITCHELL (voice-over): Tonight, the video everyone`s been waiting for. George Zimmerman takes cops back to the scene of the crime and reenacts what he says happened the night he gunned down Trayvon Martin.
The former Neighborhood Watch volunteer claims there was a vicious attack that left him bloodied and bruised. But Trayvon`s not here to tell his side of the story. We`ll play the reenactment video next. Is George Zimmerman believable?
The attorney for Trayvon Martin`s family joins me live with a panel of experts to debate it. And we`re taking your calls.
Plus, a bombshell in the Jerry Sandusky child molestation trial. Just hours after the jury goes to deliberate, Jerry Sandusky`s adoptive son publicly, for the very first time, accuses his father, Jerry, of sexually abusing him. Why did Matt Sandusky wait for the very moment when this shocker would not be heard by the jury, which is sequestered? Could this still affect the case?
GEORGE ZIMMERMAN, CHARGED WITH SHOOTING TRAYVON MARTIN: He ended up on top of me. And he just kept punching my face, my head. I was screaming for help.
He put his hand on his nose -- on my nose and the other hand on my arm, (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
SYBRINA FULTON, MOTHER OF TRAYVON MARTIN: My son was not committing any crime.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No justice, no peace! No justice, no peace!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No justice, no peace! No justice, no peace!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No justice, no peace! No justice, no peace!
ZIMMERMAN: I felt like my head was going to explode.
He said, "You`re going to die tonight, (EXPLETIVE DELETED)."
He says, "You`re going to die tonight. You`re going to die tonight, (EXPLETIVE DELETED)."
BENJAMIN CRUMP, ATTORNEY FOR TRAYVON MARTIN`S FAMILY: His credibility is the most important thing in this entire case.
ZIMMERMAN: I didn`t think I hit him as I sat up and, like, "Oh, you got me. You got it. You got me. You got it." Something like that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, astonishing new video. George Zimmerman recreates what he says happened the night he shot Trayvon Martin dead. What does this mean for Zimmerman`s murder trial?
Good evening. I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell.
Take a look. George Zimmerman, the day after the shooting, leads investigators through the crime scene in Sanford, Florida, giving cops his version of events. His head is bandaged, but he`s walking around un- handcuffed.
And right now, we are going to show you the key crucial portions of this video uninterrupted so you can see for yourself and judge for yourself. Watch this. George Zimmerman explaining how he says he killed Trayvon Martin, in his own words.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZIMMERMAN: Here he yelled from behind me to the side of me. He said, "Yo, you got a problem?"
I turned around and said, "No, I don`t have a problem, man."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where was he at?
ZIMMERMAN: He was about there. But he was walking towards me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This direction here?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sir. Like I said, I was already past that. So I didn`t see exactly where he came from. But he was about where you are.
And I said, "No, I don`t have a problem." And I went to get out my cell phone, but I left it in a different pocket. I looked down in my pant pocket.
And he said, "You got a problem now." And then he was here and punched me in the face.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right here?
ZIMMERMAN: Right up around here. To be honest, I don`t remember exactly. I stumbled, and I fell down. He pushed me down. Somehow he got on top of me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the grass or on the cement?
ZIMMERMAN: It was more over like here. I was trying to push him away from me. And then he got on top of me somewhere around here. And that`s when I started screaming for help. I started screaming, "Help, help."
That is when he grabbed -- oh, I tried to sit up. And that`s when he grabbed me by the head and tried so slam my head down.
No. My body was on the grass. My head was on the cement.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sir. This is the best I can feel -- I felt like my body was on the grass and my head was on the cement. And he just kept slamming and slamming me. And I just -- I kept yelling, "Help, help."
His hand on his nose -- on my nose and the other hand on my mouth and was just (EXPLETIVE DELETED) choking me. And -- and I tried squirming again. All I could think about was -- when he was hitting my head against, felt like my head was going to explode and I thought I was going to lose consciousness.
So I tried to squirm so I could get -- he only had a small portion of my head on the concrete. So I tried to squirm off the concrete. And when I did that, somebody here opened the door. And I said, "Help me, help me."
And they said, "I`ll call 911."
I said, "No, help me. I need help." And I don`t know what they did.
But that`s when my jacket moved up, and I had my firearm on my right side here. My jacket moved up, and he saw -- I feel like he saw, looked at it. He said, "You`re going to die tonight, (EXPLETIVE DELETED)." And he reached for it. I felt his arm going down my side, and I just grabbed it. And I just grabbed my firearm and shot him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After you shot him, what did he say?
ZIMMERMAN: After I shot him, he like sat up...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re still -- you`re down here, in the grass.
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sir. He was on top of me like this. And I shot him. And I didn`t think I hit him because he sat up and he said, "Oh, you got me. You got it. You got me. You got it." Something like that. So I thought he was just saying, "I heard it. I`m leaving now."
So I don`t know if I pushed him off me, he fell off me. Either way, I got on top of him, pushing his arms away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You flipped him over?
ZIMMERMAN: I don`t remember how I got on top.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s fine.
ZIMMERMAN: But I got on his back, and I moved his arms apart. He was hitting me in the face and the head. I thought he had something in his hands. So I just -- I moved his hands apart.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You had him face down then?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes. Face down. And I was on his back. And then somebody came with a flashlight. And I thought it was a police officer. So I said, "Are you the police?" And I still had my hand out and I said, "Are you the police? My gun`s right here."
He goes, "No, no, I`m not. I`m calling the police."
I said, "Don`t call the police. Help me restrain this guy."
And he said, "I`m calling the police. I`m calling the police."
I said, "I already called. They`re on their way. They`re coming."
And that`s when the police officer came around. I saw the police officer so I stood up and I holstered my weapon. He said, "Who shot him?"
And I said, "I did."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We have a team of experts here to analyze the video you just saw. And I want you to join us. Call me with your thoughts: 1- 877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297.
Let`s do a round robin with our panel of experts. Does this hurt George Zimmerman`s case, or does it help him? I want to begin with Natalie Jackson, the attorney for Trayvon Martin`s family.
Natalie, your thoughts about that video?
NATALIE JACKSON, ATTORNEY FOR TRAYVON`S FAMILY: It certainly hurts -- hurts his case. We see a lot of inconsistencies. I know you said that this is the most important part that you played, but, Jane, there was a part before that where George Zimmerman talks about how he got out of the car.
He said that he got out of the car to assist dispatch with looking for an address. We know from listening to the tape when he was talking to the non-emergency number that he got out of the car to run after Trayvon. That is the most crucial part. He lied about why he got out of the car.
And from there it just goes downhill. There`s many inconsistencies in this video and in the three additional statements that he made.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Mark Eiglarsh, criminal defense attorney, former prosecutor, Miami.
MARK EIGLARSH, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I couldn`t disagree with her more. I don`t know if we`re watching the same thing or whether she`s being objective or not. But I have no -- you know, I`m not fighting for any side here.
But objectively, today was a blockbuster, as you would say. It is a bomb shell. It is a game-changer.
I have no idea whether he`s being truthful on this video or not, but there doesn`t appear to be any lying in him. He looks believable. And...
JACKSON: Have you read the statements?
EIGLARSH: I`m not done. I am not done. And I didn`t interrupt you.
In the court of public opinion and in a courtroom where there will be no witnesses to contradict what he has to say, I think for the first time ever I see potentially a jury acquitting him.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Now, Natalie, I want to give you an opportunity to respond.
JACKSON: The response is that, you know, I think that a lot of people are making comments -- there are four other statements that he made plus this video.
EIGLARSH: I saw them all.
JACKSON: You have to compare it.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Mark.
JACKSON: You have to compare it to his -- his tape when he called the non-dispatch number to report Trayvon being in the area.
What do you say about him saying that he got out of the car to assist dispatch with an address? We clearly know from his own words he got out of the car to run after Trayvon. He said it himself.
EIGLARSH: I don`t see that. Just so we`re clear, I did -- I listened to every single piece of evidence released. I spent all morning listening to it. And if there are any minor inconsistencies, and I saw very few...
JACKSON: That`s not a minor. That`s huge. That`s why he got out of his car.
EIGLARSH: No, no, no. I disagree with you. I disagree with you. I don`t see that as a contradiction.
And overall, if you`re being intellectually dishonest, you need to be very concerned if you`re looking for a guilty verdict.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, hold on a second. Let`s bring in somebody else.
JACKSON: ... guilty verdict.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Rolonda Watts, you`re a television -- long-time news reporter. Your thoughts?
ROLONDA WATTS, REPORTER: Well, I -- I heard inconsistencies, as well.
But the legal analysts are even pointing out that there are two important things that we`re going to have to look at as we examine the Zimmerman case. One is provocation, the other escalation.
And what he`s trying to show here, or at least those who are pulling for Zimmerman, they`re trying to show here is that he thought he was pulling for the gun and that he thought that his life was being threatened. The escalation. So he can prove the "stand your ground" law.
But quite honestly, to me, it doesn`t fit. It doesn`t sound like the profile that we`ve heard of Trayvon.
The sad story is that Trayvon is not here to defend himself. While Zimmerman has the right to defend himself, Trayvon doesn`t even have the right to live.
But what I have heard about this kid, that he was a good kid. He was not a goon. That he was mild-mannered. He had Skittles and an iced tea, for goodness sake. He was strolling in the rain. This doesn`t sound like somebody who jumped somebody, cussed them out and said they were going to kill them. That`s does -- that`s an inconsistency.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZIMMERMAN: Somebody here opened the door. And I said, "Help me, help me."
They said, "I`ll call 911."
I said, "No, help me."
And somebody came with a flashlight. And I thought it was a police officer. So I said, "Are you the police?" And I still had my hand out. And I said, "Are you the police? My gun`s right here."
And he goes, "No, no, I`m not."
That`s when the police officer came around -- I saw the police officer so stood up and I holstered my gun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. If I`m counting right, George Zimmerman refers to approximately three witnesses. We`re going to have to see if they corroborate his version of events.
There`s the guy who went outside and said he was calling 911. There`s the other witness with a flashlight George thought was a cop and then the actual cop, the first one on the scene.
And then of course, there`s the forensic and injuries, the blood to George Zimmerman`s head, the broken nose, alleged. Doug Burns, former federal prosecutor but also a criminal defense attorney, how do you come down on this?
DOUG BURNS, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I come down between what we`ve heard. In other words, look, first of all, you`ve got to break this case into two parts. Why did he go after him? He made a phone call and they said, "Don`t follow this kid." Remember that?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.
BURNS: But the fact is, all the legal pundits and scholars and experts say it still doesn`t matter, because once they`re in an encounter, he can use force equal to what`s presented to him. OK. That`s very nice in the classroom or in a media discussion, but in the real world that becomes very problematic.
Because my original take is, look, if you and I are in a fistfight, I can`t pull out a gun and kill you. OK? Because that`s not equal to the force that`s involved.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Right.
BURNS: But by the same token, you could theoretically kill me with your bare hands. OK? That`s possible. So it becomes a very, very tricky calculus.
If you look at his injuries and the extent of them and then you look at these explanations that he`s giving where he may subjectively feel that he`s in some kind of serious danger, it becomes a horserace.
But you made the key point. And one of the other guests made the key point, you have two witnesses. One is deceased, sadly and tragically. So the three other witnesses, as you yourself said, are going to be absolutely critical. Will they corroborate what was the level of force?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And guess what? We`ve heard reports that those witnesses have changed their stories.
BURNS: Well, that`s a problem, for sure.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. It`s a big problem.
Let`s go out to the phone lines. Ayesha (ph), Michigan, thank you for your patience. Ayesha (ph), your question or thought?
CALLER: My question is, if he was in a tussle in the rain, how come he come in the precinct clean? Your shirt ain`t wrinkled. Your shirt don`t have dirt on it. It don`t even have blood on it.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, OK. I want to clarify. This video is taken the day after the shooting. His head is bandaged in the back. So he`s already been to the police station. He was reportedly cleaned up at the scene. And then they bring him back here.
But I will say one thing, Michelle Suskauer, criminal defense attorney, there`s been a lot of criticism, obviously, of law enforcement that they did not investigate, that they essentially took George Zimmerman`s version of events face value, blindly. And we are seeing, I would say, at least some kind of investigation here -- Michelle.
MICHELLE SUSKAUER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY (via phone): Absolutely. I think this video really shows that there was some due diligence. It may not be up to everybody`s standards, but certainly they have George Zimmerman.
This video -- by the way I agree wholeheartedly with Mark Eiglarsh here -- is very, very telling. It`s going to be powerful if a jury gets to see it. Because it`s not only what he says, but how he says it and how confident he is. How he`s not stammering. What he looked like. The injuries.
And also looking at the -- where the witnesses could have been. And their vantage point. I think that`s really significant.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, but -- but...
SUSKAUER: I think it`s very helpful for the defense.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: But Rolonda, he is a liar, according to prosecutors. He has lied in court about how much money he had.
WATTS: Well, that`s the whole point. The prosecutors are going to have to prove that what he`s saying here, the story that he`s giving here is totally unbelievable.
We also have to look at how much of a scuffle was there? Was this a scuffle enough to say, "I`m going to kill you and kill somebody"? Those are the questions that are going to have to be asked in court.
And I also ask the question, you know, all of us love the hero in a community, a guy who comes in and saves the day. If Trayvon Martin was the bad guy that he makes him out to be, who`s attacking security people in the neighborhood, community watchmen, then the whole neighborhood would have come out and said, "Hooray for Zimmerman." We didn`t see that. We didn`t see that. So that raises some questions to me, too. Because the kid has never been defined as anything but mild-mannered.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZIMMERMAN: I just pinched his arm, and I grabbed my gun and I aimed at him, fired one shot. He kind of sat back and said, "You got me."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`ve also obtained this video of police in Sanford conducting a lie detector test. Actually it`s a voice analysis is what they call it, test on George Zimmerman. And there was one key question that they asked that we want to show you. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this the month of February?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you in fear for your life when you shot the...
ZIMMERMAN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold on. Let me ask the question. Were you in fear for your life when you shot the guy?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So they asked George Zimmerman if he was in fear for his life when he shot the gun, and he said yes. And police have since reported, reportedly, that he passed the test.
So, again, Natalie Jackson, Trayvon Martin`s family attorney, this was a voice analysis where they measure stress levels. What does this mean for the case?
JACKSON: That`s not admissible in court, but going back to the video, I mean, at the end, even the part that you played, he said that he shot Trayvon and Trayvon said, "You got me."
And then he said that Trayvon continues to talk as he goes on Trayvon`s back. And he holds his arm. After he shot him.
And then the witness comes out. I mean, this is all inconsistent with what has been played out. It`s inconsistent with the witness story who said he called 911. It`s inconsistent with everything. It`s just full of inconsistencies. I think that, you know, this does not help.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Mark Eiglarsh, I would agree that there was something that struck me as a little sort of theatrical Hollywood language when George Zimmerman says that Trayvon said, "Oh, you got me," and he thought that he meant that, "Oh, you made your point." But he didn`t think he really shot him.
Now, the autopsy showed that he was hit directly in the center of his body, in his chest. How can you shoot somebody in the chest and think you didn`t shoot them?
EIGLARSH: Jane, I don`t know. And let me just say this, I don`t disagree with you. There`s a lot that`s very self-serving. It almost seems like there`s a checklist that he went through, "What do I need to say to make sure I get off?"
But the reality is he doesn`t come across, in my opinion and in my opinion to the jurors, as a liar, per se. And the bottom line is there`s no other witnesses who are going to contradict what happened right before he pulled the trigger.
So what you`re left with is someone -- assuming the facts are true or cannot be contradicted -- who reasonably feared death or great bodily harm and didn`t have any reasonable means to escape the harm even if you find that he was the aggressor, which under his version he was not.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s go out to the phone lines. Beverly, Texas, your question or thought, Beverly.
CALLER: Well, my thought is that I think George Zimmerman already had the gun out. And I think Trayvon Martin thought he was going to kill him. And you can`t outrun a bullet.
And then George Zimmerman on the video showed how Trayvon was holding his mouth and nose with both hands, yet he was beating his head into the concrete at the same time? The kid didn`t have four arms. He didn`t weigh 300 pounds where he could hold him down and do all this at the same time.
And then he said that the kid was reaching for his gun while he was doing all this. It just doesn`t make any sense.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Michelle Suskauer, criminal defense attorney, how do you respond to that?
SUSKAUER: Well, Jane, this happened in a matter of moments. It was quick. There was tremendous amount of adrenaline going on. Certainly, a large amount of testosterone going on. And there weren`t a lot of lights. It wasn`t well-lit. So, you know, we`re never going to know exactly how it happened.
And, yes, there are going to be -- absolutely there are inconsistencies. It`s a question of whether the jury is going to find that those are material and whether or not he`s believable.
But this -- again, this video is very telling. And I think it`s going to play very well in front of a jury.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, this tape was released by the defense, even though under Florida`s sunshine laws, it would have been released anyway.
I am wondering, could this be a strategy to garner support for Zimmerman`s bid, which he is going to formally ask to be released on bail again next Friday? Could this be part of the strategy to garner public sympathy in anticipation of that bond hearing next Friday?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZIMMERMAN: He was up on top of me, and he just kept punching my face and my head. I was screaming for help.
He put his hand on his nose -- on my nose. And other hand on my mouth. He said, "Shut the (EXPLETIVE DELETED)."
FULTON: My son was not committing any crime.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No justice, no peace! No justice, no peace!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No justice, no peace! No justice, no peace!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No justice, no peace! No justice, no peace!
ZIMMERMAN: Each time it felt like my head was going to explode more than the last.
He says, "You`re going to die tonight, (EXPLETIVE DELETED)."
He says, "You`re going to die tonight. You`re going to die tonight, (EXPLETIVE DELETED)."
CRUMP: His credibility is the most important thing in this entire case.
ZIMMERMAN: (inaudible). Shut up. And he said, ok, you got me. You got it. You got me. You got it. Something like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Breaking news, Trayvon Martin shooter, George Zimmerman`s lawyers release his version of events in the form of a video taken with investigators the day after George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin dead.
Take a look at some of the highlights.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZIMMERMAN: He said, yo, you got a problem? I turned around, I said, no, I don`t have a problem, man.
He grabbed me by the head and tried to slam my head down. He put his hand on his nose -- on my nose and his other hand on my mouth and said shut up (EXPLETIVE DELETED). He was hitting my head against -- I thought my head was going to explode. I thought I was going to lose consciousness.
He said, you`re going to die tonight. He reached for it. I felt his arm going down my side and I grabbed it and I just grabbed my firearm and I shot one time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That`s his version of events. Of course the young man, the 17-year-old who was simply going to get Skittles and ice tea and going back to his dad`s place, he`s not here to tell his side of events.
One of the key questions, will this video be allowed in as evidence at trial because some people feel it`s George Zimmerman making a pretty compelling case for himself.
Doug Burns, former federal prosecutor, will the jurors in his secondary murder trial see this video?
DOUG BURNS, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: I can`t tell you how many comical situations I have been the minute the defendant says something that helps the state, they`re racing to put it in. The minute a video helps the defendant, the state stands up with a straight face, your honor, that`s hearsay, we don`t want it coming in and you just shake your head at the defense table.
It`s a discretionary ruling. It`s up to the judge. I think technically it`s hearsay but I also think the judge will let it in.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Mark Eiglarsh, will the judge let the jurors in this murder trial see this video?
MARK EIGLARSH, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely. And he should. And if he doesn`t, what you can do is you can re-create it. You can bring the jurors through pictures, through video yourself. You can create it through his testimony. He`s going to have to testify at trial. And that with the physical evidence showing the broken nose, the damage to the back of his head and no other witnesses, again, to contradict what happened during those critical moments before the shooting, again, I think he`s in a good situation today.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Phone lines, Duelma (ph), Massachusetts, your question or thought, Duelma?
DUELMA, MASSACHUSETTS (via telephone): Hi, Jane. I`m just wondering why are people defending him when he`s the one that started the whole thing? He`s the one that confronted the young man. And when the young man turned around and defended himself, he shot him. I`m saying, if that was my kid, I would tell him defend yourself and stand up for yourself.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You make an excellent point. This is told from the narrow boundaries of what George Zimmerman wants to focus on. And not the fact that he was the initiator. And that is established in the 911 call.
Michelle Suskauer, he`s following Trayvon Martin saying he looks suspicious; he looks like he`s on drugs or something. We determined that the young man was going to get Skittles and ice tea and he was talking to his girlfriend and heading back to his dad`s place. His dad was staying with his girlfriend.
MICHELLE SUSKAUER: This is a video. This is a voluntary statement that George Zimmerman did. He didn`t have to do this. (AUDIO GAP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Guess what, Michelle, you`re breaking up. I`ll give Mark Eiglarsh the final word.
EIGLARSH: Jane, we don`t know what happened, but in the court of law, it`s based on evidence. It`s not about the truth. We learned about that in Casey Anthony. It`s about what can be proven. We`ve got his word. He conveniently killed the one person who could contradict, thus we`re left with the injuries, we`re left with his version. And you know what; this could create a problem for prosecutors.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Well, Florida is a "Stand Your Ground" law. And that is perhaps the biggest problem of all.
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