“They screwed up everything”: Donald Trump May Have Declassified JFK Files But Oliver Stone Is Sure It Was an Inside Job After His 1991 Movie (2025)

Oliver Stone's film partially influenced the JFK Act, the law which enabled Donald Trump to order the release of JFK assassination records.

Written by: Hashim

Reviewed by: Divyashree

“They screwed up everything”: Donald Trump May Have Declassified JFK Files But Oliver Stone Is Sure It Was an Inside Job After His 1991 Movie (1)

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SUMMARY

  • Oliver Stone's JFK, starring Kevin Costner, was a controversial take on the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy.
  • Stone believed that it was an inside job and suggested the theory that the CIA was involved in the assassination.
  • Stone was accused of spreading misinformation and was deemed a conspiracy theorist.

President Donald Trump has ordered the declassification of records pertaining to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. The order comes after former President Joe Biden postponed the release of some additional files in 2022. The release of files began during Trump’s first presidency under the JFK Act.

“They screwed up everything”: Donald Trump May Have Declassified JFK Files But Oliver Stone Is Sure It Was an Inside Job After His 1991 Movie (2)

The JFK Act reversed the decision to seal official records of the assassination from the public until 2029. Interestingly, Oliver Stone’s 1991 film JFK was partially credited for the passing of the act. The film was a critical and commercial hit, but it remains one of the most controversial films from Stone.

Oliver Stone believed John F. Kennedy’s assassination was an inside job after JFK

“They screwed up everything”: Donald Trump May Have Declassified JFK Files But Oliver Stone Is Sure It Was an Inside Job After His 1991 Movie (3)

Oliver Stone‘s JFK was bound to rub some people the wrong way after it explored an alternate myth to the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The film examines New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison who didn’t believe in Warren Commission’s findings on Kennedy’s assassination. Kevin Costner played Garrison in the film.

Oliver Stone and Zachary Sklar adapted the screenplay from the books On the Trail of the Assassins by Garrison and Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy by Jim Marrs. The film quickly became controversial in the political circles as it embraced a conspiracy theory.

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Stone was accused of spreading misinformation, even strengthening the rumors that Kennedy was killed in a coup d’état to bring Lyndon B. Johnson to power. Stone later made a documentary JKF: Revisited in 2021 with new evidence of the assassination.

Stone shared that even though Garrison’s case was thin, the trial was able to poke some holes in the conclusions submitted by the commission (via UPI). He shared that Garrison did not bring some of the witnesses to the trial, claiming that he was preserving their privacy. Stone shared that Kennedy’s autopsy, conducted by Navy Commanders James Humes and Thornton Boswell, was a farce. He shared:

The autopsy at Bethesda is a farce. This is a very complicated murder case with shots from every side, seven wounds, two different victims. They screwed up everything.

Jim Garrison believed that there was a conspiracy theory to overthrow Kennedy and that Lee Harvey Oswald was just a scapegoat in the big picture. Stone’s film too explored this angle, suggesting that the CIA had hands in the assassination. Stone expressed his doubts to UPI:

A guy shoots the president out of an impossible perch on a window that no marksman has ever matched. He dies, so there’s no evidence. There’s no trial. Then the assassin of Oswald is bumped off in a strange cancer case a month before he’s supposed to testify. Initially some 26 witnesses that are of interest die violently in the next period of time.

Stone had only great views on Kennedy’s leadership. He shared, “Kennedy was not a colonialist. He did not see the world in oppressive terms like we still do.” Stone’s film partially influenced the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act or JFK Act.

Oliver Stone says he was branded as a conspiracy theorist after JFK

“They screwed up everything”: Donald Trump May Have Declassified JFK Files But Oliver Stone Is Sure It Was an Inside Job After His 1991 Movie (5)

Oliver Stone’s film challenged the political landscape of the country at the time of its release. During the 25th anniversary of the film in 2016, Stone shared with Variety that the film was a “hot potato” right from the start and believed that it rubbed the establishment the wrong way.

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After JFK, many viewers dismissed him as a political director and a conspiracy theorist. Stone was affected by the label and wished that it had died off. Stone told Variety:

It was a hot potato from the get-go, much hotter than I thought. I didn’t realize it would hit the central nerve core of the establishment … And it did take its toll. I think it’s changed the perception of me forever. Many now dismiss me as a filmmaker who is political and only into conspiracy theories. It labeled me and I was staggered. I wish, in a way, it had just died off.

Stone spent the next six months defending the film in the press. Stone shared that the media was “nasty” and recalled moments when he didn’t even get to refer to his research during interviews. However, Stone did not try to stay away from other political films as he directed Nixon and W. based on the lives of two other US Presidents.

JFK went on to win the Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing. The film also earned a respectable $205 million at the box office.

JFKis now available for rent on AppleTV+.

donald trumpKevin CostnerOliver Stone

Written by Hashim Asraff

Articles Published: 2245

Hashim, Entertainment Writer. With over 2000 published articles on FandomWire, he covers a wide range of topics from celebrity life to comic book movies. He holds a Masters degree in Sociology and his expertise proves invaluable in handling sensitive news. His passion for crime investigation thrillers has turned him into a detective, exploring the darkest corners of the internet during his research.

“They screwed up everything”: Donald Trump May Have Declassified JFK Files But Oliver Stone Is Sure It Was an Inside Job After His 1991 Movie (2025)
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