Trump’s New Press Secretary Faces Probe Call Over Legal Credentials

The legal credentials of newly appointed White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia have come under scrutiny after a US watchdog group asked the State Bar of California to investigate whether she misrepresented herself as a licensed lawyer.

The complaint, filed by Campaign for Accountability, followed questions about Zacharia’s professional qualifications after she struggled to clarify where she had passed the bar examination during her first press briefing on Tuesday.

The watchdog group alleged that Zacharia had repeatedly described herself as a lawyer during television appearances and identified herself as general counsel of a California-based conservative nonprofit organisation.

“Ms. Zacharia has represented herself as a lawyer repeatedly to buttress her reputation and credibility,” the group’s executive director, Michelle Kuppersmith, said.

“The State Bar should investigate whether Ms. Zacharia has misled the public about her credentials,” she added.

US President Donald Trump described Zacharia as “an attorney” when announcing her appointment on Friday. However, journalists have reportedly found no record of her being licensed to practise law in any US state.

Responding to the controversy in a statement to AFP, Zacharia said she had practised international transaction law but did not clarify whether she held a US law licence.

“I practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials,” she said.

California Bar Has No Record of Licence

The controversy intensified after Zacharia was asked by reporters on Tuesday where she had passed the bar examination.

“When I moved to China,” she replied, without providing further clarification.

California’s State Bar reportedly confirmed to US media that it had no record of Zacharia holding a licence under either her married or maiden name.

Zacharia, 41, graduated from Pepperdine University’s law school in 2011. However, graduating from law school does not automatically qualify someone to practise law in the United States; admission to the relevant state bar or other applicable authorisation is generally required.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing a source familiar with the matter, that Zacharia had sat the California bar examination after graduating but failed to pass.

Zacharia previously worked for a law firm in Beijing, according to her professional profile.

Although foreign nationals can undertake certain legal work in China, they cannot sit China’s national bar examination, according to the report.

The watchdog’s complaint seeks an investigation into whether Zacharia’s public claims about her legal qualifications violated California’s professional rules.

Zacharia’s First Briefing Draws Criticism

The questions over her credentials followed a difficult first appearance as White House press secretary on Tuesday.

Zacharia relied heavily on prepared notes during a briefing that lasted about 14 minutes. She took questions from only three news organisations, which the report described as sympathetic to Trump, and stumbled over some of her answers.

At one point, she accidentally referred to the president as her husband.

Her performance attracted criticism from former White House press secretary Jen Psaki, now a television news host, who compared the briefing to a comedy sketch on Saturday Night Live.

Trump, however, praised her debut, telling reporters: “I thought she was very good.”

Zacharia Replaces Karoline Leavitt

Zacharia succeeded Karoline Leavitt, who stepped down in August after becoming one of the most prominent public defenders of Trump’s second administration.

As the public face of the White House, the press secretary is responsible for communicating the administration’s positions and responding to questions from journalists.

The controversy over Zacharia’s credentials has added to scrutiny of her appointment, with the California State Bar complaint raising questions about whether she represented her professional status accurately.

The complaint is a request for an investigation and does not, by itself, establish that Zacharia broke the law.