White House Defends Press Secretary Katie Zacharia Amid Scrutiny of Legal Credentials
publishers 25articles 26first reported 14 Oct, 04:12 UTCdeveloping since 14 Oct · 10 editions
The White House is defending newly appointed press secretary Katie Zacharia after a watchdog group filed a complaint asking the State Bar of California to investigate whether she improperly presented herself as licensed to practice law.
Zacharia, who began the job Tuesday, has described herself as a lawyer, and President Donald Trump called her an attorney when announcing her appointment. Her professional profiles list legal roles including an associate position at Zhong Lun Law Firm in Beijing from 2011 to 2013 and general counsel for Fix California.
The Campaign for Accountability filed its complaint Wednesday, alleging that Zacharia may have repeatedly held herself out as authorized to practice law despite not being admitted to a U.S. bar. The complaint asks California regulators to determine whether her conduct violated state law.
Zacharia graduated from Pepperdine University’s law school in 2011. The Wall Street Journal reported that she took but did not pass California’s bar examination. Public records cited by several outlets do not show her registered with a state bar. In China, legal-practice licenses are restricted to Chinese citizens, though foreign employees can work for law firms in other capacities.
Asked Tuesday where she had passed the bar, Zacharia replied, “When I moved to China.” She later said, “I practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials.” She also told The New York Times that Pepperdine’s president had advised her she could describe herself as a lawyer, but not as an attorney.
White House communications director Steven Cheung called Zacharia “uniquely qualified and whip smart” and said she would do an “incredible job” as press secretary.
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Written from 8 articles, 5 with the publisher's own text; 8 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 30 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
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- Source articles
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- Given to the writer
- 8, 5 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 8
- This version written
- 30 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- kept as written
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- none
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