{"id":803009,"date":"2026-10-15T03:54:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T03:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/803009\/"},"modified":"2026-10-15T03:54:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T03:54:13","slug":"trumps-new-press-secretary-faces-scrutiny-over-claims-to-be-a-lawyer-us-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/803009\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s new press secretary faces scrutiny over claims to be a lawyer | US news"},"content":{"rendered":"

Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, has repeatedly described herself as a lawyer. But when asked after her inaugural press briefing on Tuesday to name the state where she passed the bar exam, she replied curiously: \u201cwhen I moved to China\u201d.<\/p>\n

No public record shows she has ever been licensed to practice law in the US states where she resided, and her answer to reporters\u2019 questions on Tuesday only deepened scrutiny.<\/p>\n

Zacharia wasn\u2019t registered in 38 states, as well as DC and the Virgin Islands, where the state\u2019s attorney list was publicly available, according to a review from the Guardian. On Wednesday night, the Wall Street Journal, citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter, reported<\/a> that Zacharia sat for the California bar exam after graduating from Pepperdine University law school in 2011, but did not pass.<\/p>\n

Speaking briefly to the New York Times <\/a>she did not clarify whether she had or had not passed the bar exam, but told the reporter that she had consulted with Pepperdine\u2019s president as to how she should identify herself on TV. According to the Times, she said she was told to stay away from \u201cattorney\u201d or \u201cesquire\u201d but that \u201clawyer\u201d was appropriate.<\/p>\n

After her shaky and widely panned first briefing<\/a>, a reporter asked Trump which state Zacharia had passed the bar exam in. The president, who had described Zacharia as an attorney when announcing her appointment, turned to her and asked: \u201cWhich state?\u201d She replied: \u201cwhen I moved to China\u201d. Zacharia told the New York Times she misheard the question amid the sound of Marine One and believed she had been asked: \u201cWhere were you after law school?\u201d<\/p>\n

Zacharia\u2019s law degree is real \u2013 Pepperdine University confirmed<\/a> she graduated from its law school \u2013 but a degree is not a license. No record has surfaced to prove that she was admitted to practice, according to the report in Popular Information.<\/p>\n

In a later statement to the press, Zacharia said she had \u201cpracticed international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials\u201d. The White House did not say whether she had passed a bar exam anywhere.<\/p>\n

Zacharia\u2019s LinkedIn profile<\/a> lists her as \u201cgeneral counsel\u201d of Fix California, a conservative group founded by Ric Grenell, a longtime Trump ally and the special presidential envoy for special missions. Zacharia lived in California, but the state bar of California said it had no record of her being licensed in the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe State Bar of California has no record of Kate Sharon Zacharia or Kate Sharon Black (or Katie in both instances) having been licensed to practice law in California,\u201d a spokesperson for the California state bar said in a statement. Black is her maiden name.<\/p>\n

\u201cDue to confidentiality laws, the State Bar can only confirm whether someone passed the bar exam, not whether they took the bar exam,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n

No report alleges that Zacharia has been charged with or has committed an offence.<\/p>\n

Campaign for Accountability<\/a>, a non-profit watchdog organization, on Wednesday filed a complaint with the state bar of California, asking it to investigate whether Zacharia misled the public \u2013 and potentially violated state law \u2013 by describing herself as a lawyer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn California, calling yourself a lawyer without a license isn\u2019t puffery; it\u2019s a crime,\u201d said Michelle Kuppersmith, the group\u2019s executive director, in a statement.<\/p>\n

California law says<\/a> anyone \u201cadvertising or holding himself or herself out as practicing or entitled to practice law\u201d who is not an active member of the state bar could be punished with a fine of up to $1,000 and up to one year in jail.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a difference between having a JD and being a lawyer, you are licensed as a lawyer by saying that you took the bar,\u201d said Richard Painter, a university of Minnesota law professor and the former chief White House ethics lawyer under the George W Bush administration. \u201cCalling yourself an attorney \u2026 it\u2019s a misdemeanor at least.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zacharia\u2019s LinkedIn notes that she was remote while at Fix California. But Painter said that was \u201cnot relevant \u2013 you need to be a member of the bar\u201d.<\/p>\n

The profile also says she worked as an associate at the Beijing firm Zhong Lun from 2011 to 2013. Only Chinese citizens can be licensed as lawyers in China, according to Chinese law and legal affairs website China Justice Observer<\/a>, though foreign staff can work at Chinese firms in other capacities.<\/p>\n

The Washington Post<\/a>, CNN<\/a> and the independent newsletter Popular Information<\/a> also found no sign of admission elsewhere, including Texas and Washington DC, where Popular Information said she had worked. The Post found no active or expired admissions under either of her names.<\/p>\n

The press office of Gavin Newsom, California\u2019s governor, mocked the exchange<\/a> on X, asking whether the new press secretary \u201cappears to be a Chinese lawyer\u201d. Steven Cheung, the White House director of communications, in the meantime described her briefing performance as \u201ctremendous\u201d and \u201ccommanding\u201d.<\/p>\n

Zacharia was relatively unknown when Trump announced her selection to be his next press secretary last week<\/a>, after the departure of Karoline Leavitt earlier this year. In the days since, several outlets have uncovered a series of since-deleted social media posts that promote debunked or baseless conspiracy.<\/p>\n

In a series of now-deleted social media posts on X, reviewed by the Guardian, Zacharia fawned<\/a> over Tesla and Space X founder, Elon Musk.<\/p>\n

On 22 May 2022, the new press secretary described Musk, a tech billionaire and Trump ally, as \u201cbased\u201d. She went on to explain the term was applied \u201cwhen you want to recognize someone for being themselves\u201d and \u201ccourageous and unique or not caring what others think\u201d.<\/p>\n

In another post<\/a> from the same year, Zacharia also responded to one user sharing a widely circulated picture of Musk and Ghislaine Maxwell, the co-conspirator of the late sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein, at the Vanity Fair Oscar party in 2014, where Zacharia wrote \u201coh please, he already responded to this #oldnews\u201d.<\/p>\n

Musk has not been charged with any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and has denied knowing Maxwell, claiming the photo which pictures her standing close to him is because she \u201cphotobombed\u201d him.<\/p>\n

In other now-deleted posts, also from the same period, Zacharia directed<\/a> various complimentary messages at Musk. \u201c#IstandwithElon,\u201d she wrote in one. In another she praised him<\/a> for renouncing his support for the Democratic party and saying he would now support Republicans. \u201cSmartest and richest man in the world right here is saying out loud what everyone else is thinking,\u201d Zacharia wrote.<\/p>\n

However, last year Zacharia questioned whether Musk could have been trusted \u201cfrom the beginning\u201d while appearing as a guest on conservative commentator Buck Sexton\u2019s podcast.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s heavily invested in China. A lot of people were questioning his allegiance to begin with. Where is his allegiance completely?\u201d she asked on the show. In late 2025, Musk and Trump had a public falling out of the president\u2019s sweeping domestic policy legislation. They have since reconciled and Musk, according to the New York Times, is spending record sums to help Republicans retain control of the midterm elections this cycle.<\/p>\n

The Bulwark previously reported<\/a> on Zacharia\u2019s since-deleted posts where she called on the administration to \u201csuspend habeas corpus\u201d \u2013 the constitutional right to challenge detention before a judge.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile CNN also found now-deleted social media posts where Zacharia wrote and reshared comments that accused <\/a>prominent political figures and Hollywood elites of pedophilia. This includes longtime Democratic operative John Podesta \u2013 who was the notable target of the debunked Pizzagate conspiracy \u2013 which alleged that several prominent Democrats were part of a child sex-trafficking ring.<\/p>\n