White House Defends New Press Secretary Amid Questions on Legal Credentials
Scrutiny arises over Katie Zacharia's claims of practicing law without apparent state bar registration.
The White House is defending its new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, as she faces scrutiny over her legal credentials. President Donald Trump described Zacharia as an attorney when announcing her appointment, and she has referred to herself as a lawyer.
Questions about her qualifications surfaced when a reporter asked Zacharia in which U.S. state she had passed the bar exam required to be an attorney. She responded, "When I moved to China." Public records do not indicate she is registered to the bar in any state where she has lived.
White House communications director Steven Cheung stated that Zacharia is "uniquely qualified and whip smart to help inform the American people." Zacharia, in a statement, said she "practised international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials."
A watchdog group, the Campaign for Accountability, filed a complaint with the California State Bar Association on Wednesday, seeking an investigation into whether Zacharia "repeatedly held herself out to the public as entitled to practise law without a licence to do so, conduct California law treats as a crime."
Zacharia, a 42-year-old political strategist, graduated from Pepperdine University's law school in California in 2011. A law degree does not confer a license to practice law in the U.S. Zacharia told The New York Times that she had been advised by Pepperdine's university president that she could identify herself as a lawyer, but not an attorney, when she first began appearing on cable news.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Zacharia took the bar exam in California after law school but did not pass. The California bar exam is considered one of the most challenging in the U.S.
Zacharia moved to Beijing with her then-fiancé due to his job, where she stated she worked on "international transaction law." Her LinkedIn profile indicates she worked as an associate at Zhong Lun Law Firm in Beijing from 2011 to 2013. In China, only Chinese citizens can obtain a license to practice law; foreign employees may hold other roles at law firms.
In February of the previous year, Zacharia stated on a radio program that she had served as outside counsel for the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank during her time in China. The World Bank Group sometimes retains outside law firms, which then assign their own lawyers to specific work. Zacharia's LinkedIn profile also lists her as general counsel for Fix California, a conservative non-profit founded by Ric Grenell.