Katie Zacharia, US President Donald Trump’s newly appointed White House press secretary, faces questions about her legal credentials after telling reporters on Tuesday that she passed a bar exam “when I moved to China”, without identifying the jurisdiction.
Zacharia, who has repeatedly described herself as a lawyer, made the remark after her first official White House press briefing. According to her LinkedIn profile, she worked as an associate at Zhong Lun Law Firm, one of China’s largest, in Beijing from 2011 to 2013.
A review by the South China Morning Post of attorney registration records in New York, the District of Columbia, California, Texas and Florida found no listing for Zacharia.
Independent journalist Judd Legum separately reported finding no evidence that she had been admitted to practise law in any of the 50 US states or Washington, DC.
Passing a bar examination and being admitted to practise law are separate steps. The searches do not establish whether Zacharia passed an examination.
The White House did not immediately respond to SCMP’s request for comment, including a question about which jurisdiction had admitted Zacharia to practise.
A White House official did not directly answer when NBC News asked whether Zacharia had passed a bar exam.
The official said she had moved to China with her husband after law school because of his job at an American private equity firm, and had worked on international transaction law there before the couple returned to the United States.
Zacharia told NewsNation she had practised with “all the appropriate credentials”, without specifying a jurisdiction.
Her reference to China leaves unclear whether she was describing when she passed an examination or where she qualified.
Eligibility rules for China’s national judicial examination in 2011, when Zacharia reportedly began working in Beijing, required candidates to hold Chinese nationality.
Foreign nationals were therefore ineligible to take the examination, a step towards qualification to practise mainland Chinese law.
Employment at a Chinese law firm does not, by itself, establish that someone holds a licence to practise Chinese law. SCMP has asked Zhong Lun to clarify Zacharia’s role and qualifications. The firm did not immediately respond.
Zacharia received her law degree from Pepperdine University and was named press secretary last week.
She previously served as a spokeswoman at the Department of Homeland Security and as a senior communications adviser to Trump Media & Technology Group. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
