White House Defends New Press Secretary Amid Questions Over Her Legal Credentials
Katie Zacharia does not appear to be registered to practice law in any state where she has lived.
The White House is defending its new press secretary, Kathy Zacharias, as she faces scrutiny over her legal credentials.
US President Donald Trump described Zakaria as a lawyer when he announced his appointment last week, and he referred to himself as a lawyer.
But when asked by a reporter on Tuesday in which state he took the bar exam required to practice law in the United States, he stood by the president: "When I moved to China."
He does not appear to have been admitted to the bar in any state in which he lived. White House communications director Steven Chong said Zakaria is "particularly qualified and smart to help inform the American people."
"I practiced international transaction law with all the proper credentials," Zakaria said in a statement this week in response to questions about his credentials.
On Wednesday, a watchdog group, the Campaign for Accountability, filed a complaint with the California State Bar Association.
They are seeking an investigation into whether Zachariah "repeatedly represented himself to the public as an attorney without a license to do so, a crime under California law."
The 42-year-old political strategist graduated from law school at Pepperdine University in California in 2011, the university confirmed.
A law degree is not a license to practice law in the United States.
The new White House press secretary told The New York Times on Wednesday that when he first appeared on cable news, he asked Pepperdine how he should introduce himself.
He said he was advised by the dean that he could call himself a lawyer, but not a lawyer.
According to the Wall Street Journal, after graduating from law school, Zakaria took the bar exam in California but failed. The California Bar Exam is widely regarded as one of the most difficult exams in the United States to pass.
A person with direct knowledge of the matter told the publication that Zakaria took the exam around the same time as she was planning her wedding and preparing to move to China with her husband.
She moved to Beijing because of her husband's job in an American private equity firm. Zakaria has said that he worked on "international transaction law" there.
His LinkedIn profile states that he worked as an associate at Zhong Lun Law Firm in Beijing from 2011 to 2013.
In China, only Chinese citizens are eligible to be licensed to practice law. Foreign employees may work in other jobs in law firms.
In February of last year, Zakharia told the conservative radio show The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show that during his time in China he worked as an external consultant for the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank.
The BBC has contacted the World Bank and IFC for comment.
It is understood that the World Bank Group sometimes retains overseas law firms and these firms decide which of their lawyers are assigned to which part of each job.
Zacharias also served as general counsel for California Fix, a conservative nonprofit founded by Trump ally Rick Grenell, according to his LinkedIn profile.