White House spokesperson Katie Zacharia’s law career faces scrutiny

Katie Zacharia has repeatedly claimed to be a lawyer, but critics question if she passed the bar exam to be licensed. Save Share Katie Zacharia, the new White House press secretary under United States President Donald Trump, has drawn increasing criticism over claims about her professional background. On Wednesday, a public accountability nonprofit filed a complaint with the State Bar of California over Zacharia’s repeated claims that she was a lawyer. If made falsely, such a claim is a crime in the state. According to Zacharia’s LinkedIn profile, she received a degree from the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law in 2011, but critics have questioned whether she received a licence to practise law, as she has suggested. “Ms. Zacharia has represented herself as a lawyer repeatedly to buttress her reputation and credibility as a television legal commentator and now as the White House spokesperson,” Michelle Kuppersmith, the head of the Washington, DC-based Campaign for Accountability, said in a statement. “Yet it seems it was all a lie.” Her organisation filed the complaint with California’s bar office, a regulatory agency that oversees the licensing of lawyers. “In California, calling yourself a lawyer without a license isn’t puffery; it’s a crime,” Kuppersmith said. “The State Bar should investigate whether Ms. Zacharia has misled the public about her credentials and hold her accountable if she has.” Zacharia, a commentator who has appeared frequently on Fox News and Newsmax, began her term as White House press secretary on Tuesday. In a news briefing that day, she seemed to falter and speak haltingly, sometimes having to repeat herself. Her appearance was brief, lasting under 15 minutes. She spent much of her time at the podium thanking Trump for the opportunity and reading from a prepared statement. “I have wanted to work for him for a very long time,” Zacharia said. Later, she joined Trump outside the White House to speak further with reporters. When asked where she had passed the bar exam, Zacharia replied, “When I moved to China.” The response was an apparent reference to a three-year stint in which she claims she worked at a law firm in Beijing. A biography on the website for the pro-Trump women’s organisation Trumpettes USA Inc says she “served as outside counsel” for the World Bank and International Finance Corporation while in Beijing....