New Scandal: Spokeswoman's Claim Questioned | Kaity Zakaria Becomes News Story

The Guardian reported that Karoline Leavitt...

The Guardian newspaper reported that Katie Zakaria, the new White House press secretary in Donald Trump's administration, is not licensed to practice law in any of the US states whose public records were checked, despite repeatedly introducing herself as a lawyer.

According to Ambassador Arjan, the Guardian newspaper in a report raised doubts about the claim of Katie Zakaria, the new White House spokesperson, that she is a lawyer, and wrote that no public record of her obtaining a law license in the American states where she lived was found.

This issue was noticed after Zakaria's first press conference on Tuesday and following the question of reporters about the place where he passed the bar exam. When a reporter asked Donald Trump in which state Zakaria passed the bar exam, the US president turned to his new spokesman and asked him the same question. "When I moved to China," Zakaria replied.

He later told The New York Times that because of the sound of the presidential helicopter, he misheard the reporter's question and thought he was being asked where he had been after graduating from law school.

The Guardian's investigation shows that Zakaria's name is not registered in the list of licensed lawyers in 38 US states, as well as Washington DC and the US Virgin Islands, where public information is available. The Wall Street Journal also reported, quoting an informed person, that after graduating from Pepperdine University Law School in 2011, Zakaria took the California bar exam but failed.

Pepperdine University has confirmed that Zakaria graduated from its law school; However, having a law degree alone does not mean you are licensed to practice as a lawyer. The California State Bar Association has also announced that it has no record of her being licensed to practice law under the names "Kathy Sharon Zakaria" or "Kathy Sharon Black" - her maiden name.

In subsequent statements, Zakaria claimed that he worked in the field of international transaction law and had "all the necessary qualifications". However, the White House has not specified whether he has passed the bar exam in any US state.

Meanwhile, the nonprofit watchdog Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint with the California Bar Association on Wednesday, demanding an investigation into whether Zakaria misled the public and violated state law by presenting himself as a lawyer.

Under California law, misrepresenting yourself as a person entitled to practice law while not being an active member of the state bar can result in penalties including a fine of up to $1,000 and imprisonment for up to a year. However, so far there has been no report that Zakaria has been accused of committing a crime.

This controversy was formed while Zakaria was a relatively unknown figure before being chosen as the new spokesman of the White House. He was nominated for this position by Trump last week; The appointment follows Carolyn Leavitt's resignation earlier this year.