White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia, it turns out, did not pass the bar exam, despite claiming to be a lawyer.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Zacharia failed the bar exam at Pepperdine University in 2011, after graduating from law school there.
Afterward, Zacharia joined the Zhong Lun Law Firm in Beijing as an associate on its international practice team. A person with direct knowledge of the matter said lawyers told Zacharia she could give legal analysis as a result of her law degree and her international transaction experience.
Questions arose about the 41-year-old’s credentials partly from the newsletter Popular Information, and partly from Zacharia’s own nonsensical response to reporters’ inquiries on Tuesday.
When asked outside the White House what state she passed the bar in, Zacharia replied, “When I moved to China.” In a statement, she still didn’t answer: “I practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials.”
A person familiar with Zacharia’s employment at the firm told the Journal that having a law license wasn’t necessary for her work.
When reached for comment, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told the Daily Beast that Zacharia “is a fabulous and wonderful addition to the team.”
“She is uniquely qualified and whip smart to help inform the American people about all the great things President Trump and his Administration have been doing, and she will do an incredible job as Press Secretary,” he added.
A White House official told the Journal that Donald Trump didn’t hire Zacharia for legal work.
Cheung did not refer to Zacharia as an attorney like Trump did in his Truth Social post announcing her as Karoline Leavitt’s replacement.
Zacharia herself, in an Aug. 31 Fox News appearance discussing the prosecution of the accused killer of Charlie Kirk, said, “As a lawyer, the procedural steps are absolutely critical to ensure that they get this right.”
Speaking to the New York Times on Wednesday, Zacharia claimed that she spoke to Pepperdine’s president about how she should identify herself when she started making appearances on cable news. She claims she was advised that she should not use the terms “attorney,” or “esquire,” but that it was acceptable to use “lawyer.”
The Daily Beast has contacted Pepperdine for comment.
The Journal notes that, in certain states, misidentifying oneself as a lawyer can result in criminal charges.
Fox News has also described Zacharia as an attorney in its chyrons.
Zacharia, the Journal reports, did pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, which tests knowledge of legal and professional ethics. Pepperdine law professor Robert Pushaw called her “a good law student and a genuinely good person,” but he did not describe her as an attorney.
Another former law professor of hers, Roger Alford, told the Journal that Zacharia was a “star” at the private Christian university in California, adding that the public should “get to know her before they prejudge her.”
First impressions of Zacharia at the White House podium were generally poor, with a White House official even telling MS NOW that while the job is “tough” and that “she got off on the wrong foot,” she “needs to get much better, fast.”
On the record, though, the White House issued a lengthy press release saying their new press secretary “delivered a commanding inaugural press briefing” that created “wall-to-wall coverage” and served “as a strong introduction to her tenure.”
Zacharia’s debut only lasted 14 minutes, and she took just three questions. At one point during her stilted delivery, she mixed up President Trump with her own husband.
