House Republican Brings Up Using ’86’ In a Restaurant to Justify Comey Indictment: ‘Kill the Order’

Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO) joined CNN anchor Brianna Keilar on Tuesday to discuss the new charges brought against ex-FBI Director James Comey by the Trump DOJ.

Trump had repeatedly called for the prosecution of Comey, one of his long-time political rivals. A previous indictment for lying to Congress was tossed by a judge.

Keilar began by noting this latest indictment is “about the picture that he put up of the seashells that say ‘86 47,’ where he wrote in the caption, ‘Cool shell formation on my beach walk.’ Is that serious enough to merit — he ended up taking that down and saying he didn’t realize. He said that he didn’t realize some folks associated it with violence and that he opposed violence of any kind.”

Alford replied, “Well, James Comey is a very intelligent man. I would assume he knows what the term ‘86’ means. I was a waiter for some time. When you 86 an order, you kill the order. When you’re 86-45, that is tantamount to saying ‘killing the president of the United States.’ He should have known that.”

Keilar pushed back, “When you 86 an order, you get rid of the order, right? But you’re not actually — I mean, you’re not killing the food. I just want to be clear. When you—”

Alford replied, “When you kill the order, it’s the same principle, Brianna. We can agree to disagree.”

Keilar added, “I hear what you’re saying, but there could be room for debate on that, and certainly–”

“Why even put something out there like that?” Alford interjected.

Keilar agreed, “I mean, a very good question, but do you indict over it? That is my question.”

“I don’t — I have not seen this specific indictment,” conceded Alford.

The exchange quickly went viral online and drew a bevy of comments and quips.
Semafor’s Dave Weigel replied, “There are non-violent ways to remove a president – impeachment, 25th amendment – that don’t really work. Because they don’t work, if Comey or whoever wants Trump not to be president anymore, the assumption is: by unaliving him????”

Below are some more reactions:

Watch the clip above via CNN.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!