LETTER: James Comey and ‘86’

Thomas Townsend, Las Vegas — September 3, 2026, 9:01 p.m. In a Saturday letter to the Review‑Journal concerning the charges against former FBI Director James Comey, Bob Valentine wrote, “There is nary menace of harm successful the expression” 86. Although the term “86” has come to mean removing someone from an establishment, it is widely understood that its original meaning was to kill. The phrase originated in mob slang, referring to taking a person eight miles out of town and burying them six feet underground.