01x04 - The Menendez Murders: Episode 4

Episode transcripts for the TV show "Law & Order True Crime". Aired: September 2017 to November 2017.*
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This dramatic event series explores the Beverly Hills Menendez Murders trial that became a national obsession.
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01x04 - The Menendez Murders: Episode 4

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Defendants Erik and Lyle Menendez, how do you plead?

Not guilty.

Not guilty.

Jerry told me everything.

You violated the doctor-patient privilege.

She was at risk.

We both were.

As I told you, Lyle had threatened me.

There were a series of sessions between Dr. Oziel and the defendant.

I have ruled that none of these communications are privileged.

Erik, what if I can't make the nightmares stop?

When I was five or six, Dad would massage my penis with his mouth.

Yesterday, he told me when he turned 11, his father started raping him.

As a mother and a human being, I believe it.

As a lawyer, I will believe it when I can prove it.

I never told anyone.

Dad said if anyone ever found out, something bad would happen to me.

Well, how about Dr. Oziel?

Did you tell him?

No, he reported everything back to my parents.

That was the arrangement.

How about after the murders?

Lyle and I made a deal not to talk about it.

We didn't want anyone to have a bad impression of our parents.

I thought Dad stopped after I had confronted him.

That couldn't have been easy to do.

No, if I had known that he was still doing that to Eric, I never would have gone to Princeton.

I never would have left him alone in that house.

Lyle knew about your abuse.

He figured it out when I was 12.

That Dad was doing stuff to me.

Like rough stuff.

And he went up to Dad and told him to stop.

But, it just made things worse.

What will happen if you ever told anyone again?

You'll hurt me.

Wrong!

What will I do?

You'll k*ll me.

That's right.

I believed him.

I was nothing to him.

What about you, Lyle?

What about me, what?

Listen, we have kids k*lling their parents all the time in Central Los Angeles.

And nobody writes about that.

This is just another domestic m*rder with a bit of glitz.

The signatures don't match.

Even I can see that.

Goodreau did not sign the g*n permit application.

Well, Les, go to forensics school, get yourself a degree and then you can tell the experts to go screw themselves.

I feel like the police gods are laughing at us, Tommy.

Twelve months and all we got is the word of a complete nutjob.

Zoeller.

Go, go, go.

Hey, how's it going?

Yeah?

Where is it?

Okay, thanks.

Erik's Ford Escort has been located.

It's in New Jersey.

Great.

It'll take months to get an out-of-state warrant.

Not my way.

License and registration, please.

Yes, sir, Officer.

Did I do something wrong?

Your registration has expired.

I have to take this vehicle down to the station house.

Step out, please.

Nothing, huh?

You checked it.

Tore the car apart.

Right.

Okay.

Send me the report.

I appreciate the help.

No gunpowder residue, no blood traces.

Ticket stubs for Batman?

No.

The police gods are really kicking our ass, Tommy.

Erik has a natural acting talent.

I don't know if he could make a living at it, but as far as commitment and enthusiasm go, he was a star.

He told me his parents made him withdraw from your class.

His father didn't think acting was good enough for his son.

I felt terrible for Erik.

It was like he had the life knocked out of him.

Did he ever talk about his life at home?

His dad?

I never got the sense he found much joy there.

He had ways of communicating his unhappiness.

One time he surprised the class with this soliloquy from Richard ll.

I have been studying how I may compare this prison where I live unto the world And for because the world is populous, And here is not a creature but myself, I cannot do it.

Yet I'll hammer it out.

Thoughts tending to ambition, they do plot unlikely wonders, how these vain weak nails may tear a passage through the flinty ribs of this hard world, my ragged prison walls.

And for they cannot die in their own pride.

The class was mesmerized.

It's about King Richard's loneliness in prison.

When I asked him why he chose that piece, he said it was because I'd said how difficult it was.

Especially for him.

Yeah.

Why, especially?

He has dyslexia.

Really?

He never mentioned it.

The school didn't know either.

When I asked his mother, she said he had been diagnosed years earlier.

His mother never told the school?

She acted like his dyslexia was an embarrassment.

That's too bad.

There was so much we could have done for Erik.

It sounds like it would have been Jose's idea not to inform the school.

Kitty deferred to him on all things that concerned their sons.

I'm really trying to get a fix on what kind of a mother she was.

So, why did she come to see you?

Depression.

She found out her husband had multiple affairs.

She blamed her sons for getting in between her and Jose.

Her whole world revolved around Jose.

I didn't get any sleep last night.

You know I've had insomnia for weeks now.

Just when I was dozing off, I'd hear Erik screaming in his bedroom.

What happened?

I thought, "Jesus Christ, he's gonna wake up Jose." So much racket.

So, I went in his room...

Was Erik okay?

He was fine.

It was just a nightmare.

But from the way he was shaking...

What did you do?

I didn't do anything to him.

It was just a nightmare.

I meant, what did you do to comfort him?

I took him to his bathroom and made him take a cold shower.

Like my father used to do with my brothers when they had nightmares.

How comforting.

Did she ever hint or imply that Erik was sexually abused by Mr. Menendez?

No.

But she once told me that there were sick secrets in the house.

She never would explain what she meant.

I just talked to Erik's doctor and his tennis coaches.

They didn't see any evidence of sex abuse.

And he never said anything to them.

It's hard to imagine, if it went on as long as Erik says, his mother wouldn't have noticed and done something.

I can't figure Kitty out.

She told her shrink the family had sick secrets, but didn't say what.

Maybe Kitty didn't understand.

Maybe she was afraid.

I don't think she had a maternal bone in her body.

But we need this to make sense to us, never mind the jury.

How fantastic.

Diane Sawyer has an interview with our favorite whackadoo.

Judalon?

Yeah.

It just aired on the East Coast.

It's expl*sive.

Are Lyle and Erik Menendez guilty?

Did they m*rder their parents?

Yes, they did.

You know this?

Yes, I heard it from their own mouths.

That they k*lled their parents.

What is she saying?

What is she saying?

How does she know?

She says that at Dr. Oziel's request, she was right up there on his fourth floor office, listening in the next room when Erik and Lyle met with Oziel on that Halloween night last year.

I can't believe Grandma's watching this.

Aunt Terry, Aunt Marta, our whole family is watching this, Lyle.

Erik said that Lyle made him take the first sh*t.

One of the things that Lyle said that was really disturbing to me was, "Well, for once my father would have to congratulate me on planning the perfect m*rder." Oh, mio.

Carlos, we don't know if it's the truth.

For what would they k*ll their parents?

Fourteen million.

Erik and Lyle had no idea about money.

They thought it grew on trees.

Shame on you for believing a stranger over your own nephews.

Family is everything.

That's what Jose would say.

Why didn't Dr. Oziel go to the police?

There is the issue of doctor-patient privilege and Jerry made audio notes.

He has tapes of Lyle and Erik confessing.

And indeed, that tip from Judalon Smith led police to Dr. Oziel's home, and bank vault, where they confiscated 17 tape-recordings.

That's it.

There's no question they did it.

Now, Lyle, this is a diabolical creature.

Jerry compared him to Ted Bundy.

What're they gonna think of us?

It's gonna be okay, Erik.

We just need to...

Just keep it together, Erik.

She gave an interview to Diane Sawyer.

Today, she is in Vanity Fair spewing her lies to Dominick Dunne, all with the DA's blessing.

The jury pool is being poisoned, Your Honor.

These interviews are as much as shock to us as they are to the defense.

Come on, Pam.

The DA himself appeared on Diane Sawyer's show.

Your honor, Judalon Smith has half the county believing there is a taped confession by my clients.

Dr. Oziel's tapes are compromised.

The only fair thing is for you to reverse your decision and keep the tapes out.

Nice try, Miss Abramson.

Maybe what needs to happen is for you and Miss Ferrero to work out a plea bargain.

This crime so offends the District Attorney, I can't imagine anything Miss Abramson has to offer would satisfy us.

Miss Ferrero has no qualms making deals with contract K*llers and serial rapists.

Her cynicism is what's offensive.

She said I was the worst sex of her life.

That's defamation, Ross, not to mention physically impossible.

It's not worth it, Jerry.

I'm sorry, I have to go.

Our father had this creed he made us learn.

"Today, I will be master of my emotions.

"If I feel depressed, I will sing.

"If I feel sad, I will laugh.

"If I feel fear, I will plunge ahead.

"I will be master of my emotions." And why was mastering your emotions important?

Dad thought it was a sign of weakness to show emotion.

We had to be strong.

That's why Erik and I never told anyone what was happening to us.

To him.

You said "us." What was happening to you?

I'm only here to listen, Lyle.

I know you're in pain.

Vicary thinks that I can help you, and I think I can.

But that first step has to be yours.

It wasn't right.

Parents aren't supposed to...

She'd make me touch her.

Your mother?

Yes.

When I was 11.

She'd make me come into her bed and do things to her.

That I knew I shouldn't be doing.

I knew there was something off about her, but I never would have guessed that.

So Erik was abused by his father from the age of six Lyle was abused at 11 by his mother.

Even in its perversity, it doesn't make sense.

Like, there's a piece missing.

There is.

John and I feel that Lyle was abused by Jose as well.

Then why tell us about his mother?

Probably testing the waters.

A boy being abused by his mother is in some ways more acceptable to him.

Devil's advocate.

Maybe the reason Erik and Lyle's stories don't line up is the same reason we can't find any evidence to back them up, Because they are not true.

Inconsistencies don't mean that the boys are lying.

It just means that maybe they haven't told us the whole story yet.

Well, how long till they do that?

Did you think about it?

Yeah.

And you're okay with it?

That's it.

Let's go.

We want to tell our family the truth.

We don't want them to hear it from anyone else.

Is that okay?

I think it's the right thing to do.

You boys made the right decision.

We'll help any way we can.

Thank you.

This is good.

I needed to know they would come clean.

How have you boys been?

Are you getting enough food?

It's fine, Aunt Marta.

Uh, there's something Erik and I feel the family needs to know.

And we're counting on you to tell the others.

Erik and I k*lled our parents.

It wasn't for the money.

Dad was molesting my brother.

- He molested Erik.

- Why would you say that?

The only thing your father has left is his name.

Now you want to take that away, too?

Mom too.

She molested me, too.

She did things to me too.

No, no, no.

Dios mio.

I don't want to hear it.

- Carlos.

Let them speak.

It is the truth, Uncle Carlos.

We want to take responsibility for what we did.

But we want the family to know that Mom and Dad did things to us that they needed to take responsibility for.

So, that's why you k*lled them?

Huh?

Carlos.

That's no excuse to take a life.

No, it's not.

But we thought we were fighting for our lives.

Enough!

We've heard enough.

Please.

We love our parents.

We love you guys.

Please forgive us.

The police have nothing, your best witnesses, Oziel and Judalon are pieces of crap on the sea of life.

And once the tapes are out, Pam...

There's no plea offer forthcoming.

Kids k*lling their parents is a crime against society.

You said it so yourself.

Kids k*ll their parents all the time.

And in California, those kids don't end up on death row.

What if I told you there was sexual abuse in the family?

Nothing you pull out of your hat surprises me, Leslie.

Sorry, Jill.

There will be no deals on this one.

Ira, you are using these boys as a pawn to get re-elected.

It is desperate, and it's unfair.

These are not violent people.

Erik and Lyle are not career criminals.

Hey, look me in the eye right now and tell me, you believe these boys deserve to die.

You know they don't.

Leslie, I speak on behalf of every attorney in this office when I say, "I've had it with you." Call the deputies.

I need Miss Abramson escorted out of here.

You can't bully me, Ira.

Let's go.

Out!

No, it's wrong, and you know it!

Well, that went well.

No, it didn't, Leslie.

It didn't go well at all.

We just blew our only chance for a plea bargain And now the boys go to trial for their lives.

Dad told me if I screamed, he would hit me so hard that I wouldn't be able to cry or scream again.

Imagine that I had a g*n to my head.

That was the fear that I had.

I live with that fear every day.

How could you?

You lied to me!

Jamie, please.

You k*lled your parents!

And you're still lying!

You're sick!

Jamie, I understand you have to do what's right for you.

You've been a part of this family for so...

Jamie's moving out of the guesthouse.

She doesn't want to see Lyle anymore.

I know this all must be very confusing.

Mom.

What Erik said about Uncle Jose, it's true.

Erik made me promise not to tell my mom about massages that his dad was giving him.

It was a pinky promise, but I was ten, so I thought...

We know about pinky promises.

So when you would visit your Uncle Jose and your Aunt Kitty, did your Uncle Jose do anything to you?

No.

Did you notice anything else?

Things that might have made you uncomfortable?

Well, this one time before bed, Uncle Jose took Erik and Lyle into the bathroom to take a shower together.

The three of them?

ANDY: Yes.

They had this shower with three heads.

And after they came out, Uncle Jose took them into a room to play a game.

What kind of game?

I don't know.

He'd lock the door and wouldn't let me play.

They were in there for almost an hour.

What did you play?

What did you play?

He went right to bed.

He didn't talk.

Well, thank you, Andy.

You've been very brave.

And we'll talk more later.

Mm-hmm.

Until then, don't discuss this with anyone, okay?

Marta, you too.

Okay.

Here we go.

Ma'am.

Thank you.

Are you kidding me?

They upheld Albracht's decision.

The tapes are in.

All of 'em.

It gets worse.

They're releasing Oziel and Judalon's sealed testimony.

Well, I can think of one person who'll be more pissed about this than we are.

It is outrageous that the court release testimony given under seal.

So, I feel compelled to address the lies Judalon Smith told in court.

First of all, I never asked her to eavesdrop on my patients.

I never disclosed to her the contents of any session.

I never hypnotized her or gave her dr*gs.

None of her accusations are true.

She wasn't even my patient.

That's all we have to say.

Before I leave, I'd like to send a message to Erik and Lyle, tell them I'm thinking of them, I care for them a great deal and I wish Leslie Abramson the best of luck in defending them.

If Dr. Oziel wants to be helpful to the boys, tell him to go k*ll himself.

You have messages from Soble at the Times, Brand from the Miami Herald...

Has Tim called?

No, but your brother did.

717?

That's not his area code.

He said that's the number you asked him for.

Hello?

Hi.

This is Leslie Abramson.

Is this Saul?

Because Jose d*ed first, the estate passed to Kitty before she was k*lled.

Now, those boys can't profit from their crimes.

So, the estate goes to Kitty's immediate family.

To us.

Those boys get nothing.

But, they haven't been convicted.

They confessed.

That's why we have to file the lawsuit as soon as possible.

So they don't waste it all.

They need to pay for their sins.

They are our nephews, Milton.

Kids who I believe were terribly abused.

That's all a bunch of crap.

We're done with these brats.

So you can be that cold-blooded?

Who're you calling cold-blooded?

I want you out of my house.

Both of you.

It's unbelievable what money can do.

Uncle Brian doesn't know what he's talking about.

What do you mean?

I spent the summer at Uncle Jose and Aunt Kitty's house when I was 15.

Lyle was eight.

He told me what Uncle Jose was doing to him.

I told Aunt Kitty.

She called me a little liar and dragged him upstairs and shut the door.

We never talked about it again.

Did you tell anyone else?

No.

I didn't know what to do.

I was only 15.

I was confused.

Okay, Diane.

Thank you.

This has been very helpful.

We'll be in touch.

It's hearsay evidence about what an eight-year-old may have said 15 years ago.

It's not gonna convince a jury.

Not if Lyle won't admit that Jose abused him.

Not even then.

Our show-and-tell for the jury is going to be all tell and now show.

All that abuse.

There's got to be something tangible that Jose or Kitty left behind.

So, who bought the house?

A sheikh from Saudi Arabia.

You have the directions to Calabasas?

Yeah, got 'em.


The house looks under construction, but it's okay.

You can put everything inside.

That's it.

Everything is gone.

It's gonna be okay, Grandma.

He worked his whole life for this.

I know.

I'm just a reporter, Donovan.

I don't have a dog in this fight.

The cops say I'll have to testify at this trial.

I'm not looking forward to it.

Me and Lyle really shared a lot.

Like what, for example?

Like, um...

Four months before the murders, we were talking and I told Lyle I was sexually abused when I was a kid.

And he told me he was molested, too.

By his dad.

Erik was, too.

I don't know, maybe he was just saying that to make me feel better.

I don't know.

I'm sorry, uh...

You know if he told anyone else?

No.

But I told Glenn Stevens what Lyle said.

But I told Glenn Stevens what Lyle said.

I spoke to Stevens, he wouldn't let me tape him, but I took notes, and he confirmed that Goodreau told him about Lyle and his father.

Do you think Stevens would testify?

He was pretty clear he wouldn't, unless he was forced to.

All right.

Thank you, Mr. Rand.

I'll fly to New York and talk to Goodreau and Stevens.

I'll go with you.

Well, it's Lyle's business, I can handle it.

There's someone I need to see.

Is that you?

I'm me.

Are you you?

Damn it, you still have my nose.

I thought you'd outgrow it by now.

Nice to see you, Daddy.

The chicken pot pie is good here.

Come on, honey.

And what if Lyle goes free?

Hmm?

I've got to think about that.

Are you afraid of him?

Is that why you wanted to meet in a public place?

He knows I know things.

I already spoke to Goodreau and he's willing to testify.

I just need you to go on the record about what he told you about Lyle being molested.

Don't you want to help Lyle?

You were friends.

I thought he was my friend.

And then I realized he was using me.

He gave you a job, Glenn.

Running a chicken wing shack.

Look, I've got a good job now on Wall Street.

I'm not about to give that up for him.

I mean, besides, how can I help someone who did that to his parents?

Happy birthday, dear Erik, Happy birthday to you.

Thank you, Leslie.

It's just another birthday.

Oh, no such thing.

I saw my dad last week.

Hadn't seen him since I was 14.

You know how many birthdays he missed?

But that didn't stop me.

I got you a present.

We just found out today, California Supreme Court agreed to review the ruling on Oziel's tapes.

Wow.

Do you think we have a chance?

I do.

They know the issues at stake here are bigger than just your case.

So, Erik.

I need to understand why what happened happened.

Maybe if you tell me the last time your father abused you...

It was two weeks before everything.

I got accepted to UCLA.

I told my parents I wanted to live on campus.

And Dad said no, that he wouldn't pay for it unless I spent four nights a week at home.

That's when I knew it was never gonna end.

And that's when things started to get out of control.

How do you mean?

We thought our parents were gonna k*ll us.

Lyle looks to be about eight.

Erik, six.

How do we know it's them?

We can't see their faces, just their bodies.

I compared them with photos of them from the swimming pool The birthmarks match.

The floor matches other pictures from the Princeton house and the handwriting on the outside of the envelope matches Kitty's.

I've taken pictures of my daughter in the bathtub, but these are...

It's kiddie p*rn.

Pictures of their genitals?

Like, what kind of parent takes photos like these?

Someone could argue these were taken by accident.

These photos were carefully saved and cataloged.

This is no accident.

Leslie, I doubted their story, but not anymore.

So, this is it.

You've searched the rest of the boxes.

I turned the house upside down.

Same as the house on Elm Drive.

Erik told me that he and Lyle thought their parents would k*ll them.

They were afraid for their lives.

That fits with what I've been reading.

Kids who are sexually abused have no sense of safety.

The two people who are supposed to protect them are the ones hurting them.

It would be better if the murders were a direct response to an act of abuse.

Erik said his father last abused him two weeks before the m*rder.

It's too much time elapsed.

So how are we gonna fit this into a narrative the jury is gonna understand?

We have to find a way through this.

'Cause we owe it to these boys.

The verdict was announced just hours ago Four officers acquitted in the b*ating of Rodney King.

Many blame the verdicts on Judge Weisberg's decision to move the trial to Simi Valley where many police officers reside.

And right now we're getting images of the reaction in South Central, Los Angeles.

Let's go immediately live to the scene.

The situation over here is getting more and more dangerous by the minute with reports coming in of buildings being set on fire and looting.

Merchants in Koreatown just North of here are reportedly forming armed patrols.

Oh, my God, Tim.

What kind of world is this for our kid?

All this hate and cruelty.

This baby we're adopting, what if we can't protect him?

The people of Los Angeles are sending a message.

No more disasters like McMartin and Rodney King.

No mistakes on my watch.

Is that clear?

Mister Garcetti, I have no intention of losing Menendez.

Winning is a given, Miss Ferrero.

Bozanich.

I got married recently.

Bozanich.

You grew up in Palos Verdes, didn't you?

Went to Wellesley, all that fancy upbringing?

I need to know if you can go for the jugular.

I was born to be a prosecutor, Mr. Garcetti.

Tomorrow, we'll hear from the Supreme Court on the Oziel tapes I need you to get the trial moved downtown.

A majority black jury will see the Menendez brothers for the entitled rich punks that they are.

They won't cut them any slack.

They ruled out the December tape of Erik and Lyle.

Am I nuts, or did we just win something?

Don't count your chickens.

They're allowing Oziel's audio notes of Erik's confession.

Well, that's half a victory.

I'll take it.

That was the last chance Texaco.

There's no court left to appeal to.

So, now we know what the prosecution's gonna do at trial.

We gotta build our case.

Sexual abuse led to the murders.

That will explain Erik k*lling his father.

But until Lyle says Jose molested him too, the jury won't see the connection.

Well, he acted to protect his brother from abuse just as he tried to do when Erik was 12.

There are other ways of protecting your brother short of k*lling your parents.

The jury needs to see the whole picture.

Both parents abused both brothers.

If the jury senses that there's a piece missing, that Jose molested Lyle too, they're gonna think we're trying to hide something.

So, we can build our defense but it's not gonna hold up until Lyle comes clean.

The grand jury has returned two counts each of first degree m*rder and a charge of conspiracy against Lyle and Erik Menendez The district attorney will seek the death penalty.

Judge Ito, this is extreme and unwarranted.

The DA is overreaching.

Noted, Miss Abramson.

Let's talk venue.

Your honor, this case needs to come downtown.

So that justice can be served.

I know what you want, Miss Bozanich, but the downtown calendar is full, and this portends to be a long and complicated trial.

I'm, therefore, calendaring it for Judge Weisberg's court in Van Nuys.

Have a nice drive.

All right, that's good for us, honey.

I know it's a burden on you to come here.

If you can only manage once a week, I won't mind.

I'm sorry, Erik.

I tried, I really tried.

I just can't stop picturing you holding that shotgun.

Please don't do that.

It wasn't me.

I mean, I did it, but it's not who I am.

Part of me knows that, I just...

I can't forget.

It's okay, Noelle.

I understand.

I hope everything turns out well for you, Erik.

God, it was so stupid of me to say that to Oziel.

I wasn't threatening him, but sometimes I say things like my Dad.

I just couldn't believe Erik told him.

I love my brother, and this all started because I was trying to protect him.

From your father.

Yes, he told me Dad was still doing that stuff to him.

I didn't know.

He was such an intelligent man.

He was a great man.

Why couldn't he just stop it?

When Erik told you, what did you do?

I confronted Dad.

Then things just went crazy.

We knew they were gonna k*ll us.

Dad always threatened that.

That he could k*ll us and get a new family.

He had g*ns upstairs, he was capable of that.

And I thought for sure after I confronted him when Erik was 12, he'd stopped hurting him.

Because that's how old I was when he stopped molesting me.

And it all came out after that.

The abuse started when Lyle was six and ended when he was ten.

And then Jose turned all of his attention to Erik.

And then 11 years later, he kills his father.

Eleven years of scar tissue building up over his anger.

It's like a volcano dome building up over boiling lava.

One day, that volcano blows its top.

And yet he keeps saying what a great man his father was.

Right.

He's idealizing his abuser.

It's a coping mechanism when the victim is in an ongoing relationship with his abuser.

I mean, in many ways, he's patterned himself after his dad.

Lyle said he thought his parents would k*ll them.

And Erik said the same thing.

Do you believe them?

I believe they genuinely thought their lives were in danger.

Long-term abuse victims are often hyper vigilant to the smallest thr*at.

They exaggerate them in their own minds.

Thanks, Jon.

So, now we have our last piece.

What're you thinking?

Imperfect self-defense.

These boys were abused from the age of six.

They grew up with no sense of feeling protected by their parents.

This is what a little f*gg*t does.

Beaten into submission.

Fear me.

Terrified into keeping secrets.

"Sick secrets." Wrong!

What will I do?

You'll k*ll me.

That's right.

When they finally stood up to their parents and threatened to spill those secrets, they were made to believe that their parents would k*ll them.

A genuine but unreasonable belief that their lives were in imminent danger.

So they sh*t their parents in self-defense.

Imperfect self-defense.

I believe that.

Do you?

Yes.

And do you believe them?

The abuse.

Yes, I believe them.

I believe in our case.
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