White House Press Secretary Did Not Pass Bar Exam, Sources Say
Katie Zacharia stated she took the bar exam after law school but sources indicate she did not pass.
White House press secretary Katie Zacharia did not pass the bar exam, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. Zacharia, who began her role as press secretary earlier this week, has referred to herself as a lawyer, and President Donald Trump described her as an attorney in a social media post.
The scrutiny over Zacharia's legal credentials emerged after a report questioned the evidence of her license to practice law. A Wall Street Journal report also indicated that Zacharia took the bar exam in 2011 but did not pass.
In an interview Thursday with Real America's Voice, Zacharia confirmed she took the bar exam after graduating from Pepperdine University's Caruso School of Law in 2011. However, she did not explicitly state whether she passed, describing the results as "somewhat inconsequential" at the time because she planned to work in international transaction law in China.
"I'll take the bar and see what happens," Zacharia said of her mindset then. "The results are somewhat inconsequential because I knew I wouldn't need the bar in China, and -- and we left shortly thereafter. And after moving to China, I think-- I didn't -- I didn't really think much of the bar results or consider that something that I needed to focus on, and I was offered a job at a -- in an international practice division of a -- of a Chinese law firm."
She further stated that she consulted with legal professionals about using the title "lawyer" and providing legal analysis, rather than practicing law as an attorney. "I consulted, for a very long time, many people in the field: 'Is it OK and acceptable if I label myself "lawyer," not "attorney at law," not "Katie Zacharia, Esquire," but "lawyer," and provide legal analysis, not legal advice?' And they said 'absolutely, absolutely,' across the board. 'You can call yourself a lawyer, you have a JD, and to buffer that, you have international legal experience in transactional law, which gives you the ability to analyze it, not necessarily give advice,'" Zacharia told Real America's Voice.
Zacharia also asserted that she was careful about how she referred to herself and never presented herself as a practicing attorney.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment regarding whether Zacharia passed the bar exam. A White House official noted that Zacharia holds a JD from Pepperdine and worked in international transaction law after moving to China with her husband.
Earlier this week, when asked by a reporter about which state she passed the bar exam, Zacharia responded that she "moved to China." She later clarified to the New York Times that she had trouble hearing the question over the sound of Marine One and believed she was being asked about her whereabouts after law school.
When asked Thursday if she planned to weigh in on legal matters during her tenure as press secretary, Zacharia indicated she would not.