Public records searches have yet to locate an attorney registration for Katie Zacharia in New York, Washington, California, Texas, or Florida. The findings have raised questions about Donald Trump’s new press secretary’s professional credentials, although they do not establish whether she passed a bar examination.
Katie Zacharia says she passed her exam in China
Katie Zacharia brought the subject up after her first official White House press briefing Tuesday. She told reporters that she passed a bar exam “when I moved to China” but did not identify where she took it or which jurisdiction, if any, admitted her to practice (via SCMP).
Journalist Judd Legum said his research turned up no record of Zacharia receiving authorization to practice in any U.S. state or Washington, D.C. Her résumé also points to a stint in China. Zacharia’s LinkedIn profile says she worked as an associate at Zhong Lun Law Firm between 2011 and 2013. But there is an important wrinkle: China’s 2011 rules for its national judicial examination required applicants to be Chinese citizens, meaning foreign nationals could not qualify.
Zacharia told NewsNation that she had worked as a lawyer with “all the appropriate credentials,” but stopped short of naming the jurisdiction where she obtained them. A White House representative told NBC News that she relocated to China after graduating from law school to accompany her husband, who worked for a U.S. private equity firm. During their time there, Zacharia handled international transactions before coming back to the United States.
Before joining the White House press team last week, Zacharia built a career spanning government communications and the private sector. The Pepperdine University law graduate previously represented the Department of Homeland Security as a spokeswoman and advised Trump Media & Technology Group on senior-level communications.
Neither the White House nor Zhong Lun Law Firm has clarified Zacharia’s legal credentials or confirmed the relevant details of her employment.
