White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia Failed California Bar Exam, Report Says, as ‘Lawyer’ Claims Draw Scrutiny

WASHINGTON — Katie Zacharia, the newly installed White House press secretary, took the California bar exam in 2011 and did not pass, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, deepening a controversy over her repeated public description of herself as a lawyer just days into the job.

The report lands after a rocky first week at the podium for Zacharia, who joined the administration from President Trump’s social media company only months ago. Neither she nor the White House has produced evidence that she has ever been admitted to practice law in any U.S. state, the District of Columbia or China.

A three-word answer that raised more questions

The scrutiny intensified on Tuesday, when reporters asked the president where Zacharia had passed the bar. Trump stepped aside to let her respond. “When I moved to China,” she said over the noise of Marine One, without elaborating.

Legal experts quickly cast doubt on that explanation. China’s national legal qualification exam is open only to Chinese citizens, and a University of Wisconsin-Madison specialist in Chinese law told fact-checking site Snopes there was “no possibility” she had passed it. Foreign attorneys working at Chinese firms generally advise on international business matters, work that does not require bar membership anywhere, he said.

No record in any state

A spokesperson for the State Bar of California, where Zacharia lives, said the agency has no record of her being licensed under her married or maiden name. The independent outlet Popular Information, which first raised the issue, and Snopes both reported finding no listing in directories across all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Pepperdine University confirmed that Zacharia earned a Juris Doctor from its Caruso School of Law in 2011. Her online résumé lists two years as an associate on the international practice team of Beijing’s Zhong Lun Law Firm and, more recently, a role as general counsel to Fix California, a political group founded by Trump administration official Richard Grenell.

In a statement relayed by the White House, Zacharia said: “I practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials.” Communications Director Steven Cheung called her “uniquely qualified and whip smart.” Neither responded to follow-up questions seeking documentation of a license.

Complaint filed with state bar

The watchdog group Campaign for Accountability on Wednesday asked the State Bar of California to investigate whether Zacharia misrepresented herself as an attorney, noting that holding oneself out as a lawyer without a license can be a crime under state law. The bar said confidentiality rules prevent it from confirming whether a complaint has been received.

Zacharia has described herself as a lawyer on social media, in commentary bylines and in television appearances, and the president called her “an attorney” when he announced her appointment. Democrats including Rep. Ted Lieu of California have seized on the discrepancy, while the White House has so far stood firmly behind its new spokesperson.