Review: “The Truth is the Only Client” –A New JFK Conspiracy Doc

By Richard Perkins

The film begins with Brendan Sheehan, an Ohio judge who was working in Cleveland, alongside Judge Burt Griffin, a member of the 1960’s counsel on the Warren Commission. Working together they reexamine the Warren Commission’s report through a thorough investigation into the Warren Commission, its motivation and the driving forces behind it.

All the living members of the commission are assembled, along with famed lawyer Vincent Bugliosi to document their investigative path. Instead of the usual foci of “Who Shot JFK?” documentaries, Mr. Sheehan asks, Did the Warren Commission do its job correctly? What did they investigate? And was there any possible bias or undue influence?

The film offers several valuable observations including Judge Griffin’s initial perspective that the assassination was the work of a Southern segregationist or someone potentially being set up by the FBI. As the story unfolds, Oswald’s life and subsequent actions ae documented.

The title of the film, The Truth is the Only Client reveals the thesis of the film; the directors want to reaffirm the position that the Warren Commission members were dutiful, and after reviewing their investigation, heroic. An insightful conversation between journalist Bill Moyers and the Dean of Yale’s Law School Eugene Roston, an assistant to President Johnson, sheds light on what they saw as the imminent job of the Warren Commission, to assure the public that this was not a conspiracy.

Judge Griffin shares that the commission was unaware of the numerous contacts that Oswald had made to the FBI, including a letter on November 12, 1963 threatening to blow up its Dallas headquarters. He further indicates that the commission had no knowledge of the Kennedy- Underworld plans to remove Fidel Castro from Cuba.

This film is a valuable addendum for the JFK conspiracy buffs. As in the past 50 years, one is left wondering what information can be trusted. That is the whole focal point of the film, these heroic men did their jobs to the best of their abilities but in the end ushered in a legacy of distrust in the government. A perspective that continues on in 2020.