Amy Benjamin
American conspiracy theorist
Amy Baker Benjamin (born 1965) is an American lawyer and former New Zealand -based academic focusing on international law . She has attracted media attention for her political views and has been described as a conspiracy theorist .[ 1] [ 2] [ 3]
Background
Benjamin was born and raised in the San Francisco , California area.[ 4] She attended Princeton University as an undergraduate, graduating in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts in history, and earned a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1993.[ 5]
Career
After graduation, Benjamin clerked for Stephen Breyer , then a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit , and worked as an Assistant United States Attorney for the United States Department of Justice in the Southern District of New York .[ 4] [ 6]
In 2016, Benjamin was hired as a lecturer at the Auckland University of Technology Law School .[ 7] During this time, she published five scholarly articles, with topics discussed including purported United States regime change efforts in Libya and Syria, the United States' relationship with the United Nations , and governmental secrecy.[ 8] [ 9] In one 2017 article, "9/11 As False Flag: Why International Law Must Dare to Care", published in the African Journal of International and Comparative Law , Benjamin asserted her belief that the September 11th attacks were a false flag event orchestrated by the United States government.[ 10] While a lecturer, Benjamin also appeared as a commentator on various news shows in New Zealand, including The Project and Newshub .[ 10] [ 11]
Benjamin made headlines in August 2021 for denouncing lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic as a "crime against humanity", being one of the few academics to publicly criticize New Zealand's pandemic policies.[ 12] She subsequently created controversy in November 2021 after claiming, in an interview with conspiracy theorist Vinny Eastwood, that the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings were a false flag.[ 13] Having resigned from her teaching position in September 2021, Benjamin left Auckland University of Technology effective January 2022.[ 14]
Benjamin publicly supported Donald Trump in the 2020 United States presidential election and has stated that the election was stolen.[ 15] [ 16] [ 17] She was profiled in a 2022 Stuff documentary, Fire and Fury , about disinformation in New Zealand.[ 1] [ 2] The original version of the documentary falsely stated that Benjamin had resigned from AUT following her interview with Vinny Eastwood.[ 18] Stuff later issued a retraction and apology.[ 19]
A play written by Benjamin, We, Macbeth , was performed at London's Theatro Technis in 2014.[ 8] [ 20] [ 21]
Journal articles
Benjamin, Amy Baker (October 1, 1993). "The Jurisdictional Implications of a Mens Rea Approach to Insanity: Plugging the "Detainment Gap" after Foucha v, Louisiana" . University of Dayton Law Review . 19 (1): 41– 82.
Benjamin, Amy Baker (September 25, 2015). "To Wreck a State: The New International Crime" . New Criminal Law Review . 19 (2): 208– 235. doi :10.1525/nclr.2016.19.2.208 . SSRN 2665893 .
Benjamin, Amy Baker (July 26, 2017). "9/11 as False Flag: Why International Law Must Dare to Care" . African Journal of International and Comparative Law . 25 (3): 371– 392. doi :10.3366/ajicl.2017.0200 . hdl :10292/10739 . SSRN 3009498 .
Benjamin, Amy Baker (September 18, 2017). "The Many Faces of Secrecy" . William & Mary Policy Review . 8 (2): 1– 49. SSRN 3038640 .
Benjamin, Amy Baker (May 24, 2018). "Syria: The Unbearable Lightness of Intervention" . Wisconsin International Law Journal . 35 (3): 515– 548. SSRN 4684631 .
Benjamin, Amy Baker (December 20, 2019). "Globalists and the Corruption of Sources" . Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law . 48 (1): 87– 155. SSRN 3507762 .
References
^ a b Sowman-Lund, Stewart (August 22, 2022). "The subjects of Stuff's Fire and Fury are furious" . The Spinoff . Retrieved December 27, 2023 .
^ a b Donnell, Hayden (August 18, 2022). "A conundrum over how to cover the conspiracists" . RNZ . Retrieved December 27, 2023 .
^ Manhire, Toby (December 11, 2023). "Winston Peters' rabbit hole problem" . The Spinoff . Retrieved January 1, 2024 .
^ a b "Abstracts and Biographies" (PDF) . Law and Society Association of Australia and New Zealand. 2017. Archived from the original on December 27, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023 .{{cite web }}
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^ "Amy Benjamin – About" . Auckland University of Technology . Archived from the original on November 19, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2023 .
^ Mora, Jim (April 23, 2017). "Amy Baker Benjamin: Will the real Trump foreign policy please stand up?" . RNZ . Retrieved December 27, 2023 .
^ "NEWS FROM AUT LAW SCHOOL SUMMER 2016" (PDF) . AUT . 2016. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2023 .{{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link )
^ a b "Amy Benjamin – Publications" . Auckland University of Technology . Archived from the original on November 19, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2023 .
^ "Systemic secrecy revealed" . AUT . June 11, 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ a b Farrar, David (June 5, 2017). "A law lecturer who is a 9/11 truther" . Kiwiblog . Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ Peacock, Colin (November 6, 2020). "Trump v Biden turns into Trump v democracy" . RNZ . Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ Scott, Matthew (August 19, 2021). " 'Probably a crime against humanity' – AUT law lecturer denounces lockdown" . Newsroom . Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ Sowman-Lund, Stewart (November 19, 2021). "AUT academic calls Christchurch attack a 'false flag', resigns" . NZ Herald . Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ Weir, Elliot (November 19, 2021). "Departing AUT lecturer makes false Covid, mosque attack claims" . Stuff . Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ George, Damian; Lourens, Marine; Franks, Josephine; Rilkoff, Matthew; Tso, Matthew (January 7, 2021). " 'It breaks my heart': Americans in New Zealand stunned by Capitol building riots" . Stuff . Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ Satherley, Dan; Turton, Emma (January 8, 2021). "US Election: NZ-based academic says Donald Trump not to blame for Capitol riots, says NZ should butt out" . Newshub . Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ Castagna, Mathilde; Keogh, Brittany (November 2, 2020). "US election: Kiwi-Americans divided along party lines, united in fear" . Stuff . Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ Longbottom, Toby (director) (August 25, 2022). Fire and Fury (Documentary). New Zealand: Stuff. Event occurs at 1:03:15.
^ "Retraction and apology concerning former AUT academic Amy Baker Benjamin" . Stuff . June 17, 2024. Retrieved June 17, 2024 .
^ "We, Macbeth, Theatro Technis – Review" . Everything Theatre . January 26, 2014. Retrieved December 27, 2023 .
^ Loxton, Howard (January 20, 2014). "Theatre review: We, Macbeth at Theatro Technis" . British Theatre Guide . Retrieved December 27, 2023 .