Trump's new press secretary faces questions about her legal credentials
- Popular Information reported on Tuesday that researcher Judd Legum found no record of Press Secretary Katie Zacharia being admitted to practice law in any United States jurisdiction after searching all 50 state bar associations and Washington, D.C.
- President Donald Trump appointed Zacharia last week, describing her as an "attorney" in a Truth Social post. Zacharia has repeatedly identified herself as a lawyer during media appearances, citing her past work in China as professional evidence.
- Records indicate foreign nationals are ineligible to take the bar exam in China, and practicing as a "Foreign Representative Attorney" requires two years of prior home-country experience—a requirement Zacharia lacked when joining the Beijing-headquartered Zhong Lun Law Firm shortly after graduating in 2011.
- When reporters pressed her, Zacharia claimed she passed a bar exam "when I moved to China" but declined to identify the jurisdiction. The White House Press Office declined to provide details, referring inquiries to President Donald Trump's Truth Social post.
- Zacharia previously served as "General Counsel" for the California-based nonprofit Fix California from January 2024 to March 2025. Under California law, holding oneself out as an attorney without being licensed to practice is a crime, raising potential legal questions about her past role.
208 Articles
208 Articles
They question credentials of Katie Zacharia, White House press secretary. An NGO asks to investigate whether she exercised without a license.
NEW White House spokeswoman Katie Zacharia is under investigation for falsely representing herself as a lawyer without passing the bar exam.
The White House faced increasing questions Wednesday about the legal qualifications of new press secretary Katie Zacharias, as she appeared unsure on her first day in her new position and was unable to clearly answer where she passed the bar exam.
Psaki Bashes New Press Sec, Worries About Trump ‘Hacking Away' ‘Press Freedoms’
MS NOW/SnapStream On Tuesday night, after the debut of Katie Zacharia as the new Trump White House Press Secretary, former Biden press secretary turned MS NOW primetime host, Jen Psaki, took her turn in bashing the person who now holds her old job. In the process, she said she jokingly missed former press secretary Karoline Leavitt while also warning the Trump Administration had been “systematically hacking away” at “press freedoms.”Psaki, know…
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