Zimmerman's attorney comments on Martin shooting

>>> have new developments to share in the shooting death of trayvon martin. the lawyer for the ad mitted gunman george zimmerman spoke out last night. the attorney says he has not talked to his client at the night of the shooting and where the evidence points.

>> well, the ultimate issue is that there was some kind of scuffle that took place and there was a gun that was discharged and now there's a young man dead. so the issue is whether the ultimate issue is, was it self-defense in this case? that's what all the evidence will pull, hopefully it will lead a jury to discover.

>> the newly-appointed lead prosecutor says his team is starting with a blank slate .

>> we are here to do an investigation. wee will do a thorough investigation. and that's our job. so we would ask that everybody bear in mind that we just got here, we are going to review what we've got, we'll continue the investigation and everybody just needs to take a break a minute and let us do our information. we have only been on it for less than 24 hours and let us proceed.

>> it's the first time we are hearing zimmerman react since the shooting became a national controversy. in fact, here's a portion of a voice mail who publicly supported him obtained exclusive exclusively by msnbc.

>> i want to thank you for everything that you've been doing. i know you don't have to, and i appreciate it, and you're truly setting an example for me for the future of, uh, doing the right thing, even when it's tough.

>> new protests are planned today in washington, d.c., california and other locations. organizers asked demonstrators to wear hoodies. alexis is joining me now, i thank you for being here as you have been covering this story on the ground there in florida, do we know where georgezimmerman is right now?

>> we do georgezimmerman is in florida, he's in central florida . when i was down there i spoke to the city mag who told me explicitly they know where he is and police have been in communication with him this whole time. this is the first time recorded on record making a statement since the incident with his lawyer coming forward, but the police have been in contact with his lawyer since the incident.

>> we heard from zimmerman 's attorney, do we know his attorney already and how did he suddenly surface?

>> we don't know he had an attorney. we were on the ground looking for zimmerman , every newscast in the country seemed to be there searching doors and going to local bars, doing everything we could. he did a good job of not communicating at all. frank taffy that zimmerman called, someone was talking to a lot of the media outlets, so i'm sure that's how they acquired the information. and he seemed to be in contact with zimmerman . people knew where he was but he was intentionally hiding because he fears for his life.

>> understandably so, fwichb the fact you have been on the ground covering this case, do you get the sense that police are closer into taking zimmerman into custody, or do you think we'll have to wait for some special prosecutor lead to be taken from there in the case?

>> i know angela quarry has explicitly said she doesn't know if she'll have the grand jury indictment of him. he should bring him in at any moment. really interesting case, that body, she's appointed two special attorneys to the case and an additional prosecutor, starting from scratch and they will decide what to do. police in sanford have no state in the matter. the state attorney will decide what will happen.

>> is there a timeframe for when that will happen.

>> she's starting from ground zero . she's not going to take the previous police investigations further. they would have to stem from friday. we'll start with the fist call and the first badges of evidence. they will take as long as they need to to make the determination.

>> which begs the question, how much patience do you think the community has left in them?

>> i think it is very little patience to be honest with you. i spoke with members of the african-american community when i was there. i went to the 25,000-person rally led by reverend al sharpton . there were people of all colors there. it was a huge demonstration, it was very peaceful, but there was a lot of frustration. and i think people are really just, hungry for some movement on this. it seems very clear that the stand your ground law being brought up again and again as zimmerman is is not applying with his actions does not appear in this case. jeb bush , former governor of the state , said it doesn't apply. it does not apply if this case. if it doesn't apply, i think it is pretty evidence he didn't act in self-defense. that's what zimer man's lawyer is claiming and saying, but it doesn't seem to be the case in this instance. it seems unconscionable he's not been brought in.

>> that's the cry from around this country and the world.