Trump’s new press secretary says she passed bar exam ‘when I moved to China’, raising questions of US authority

Donald Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, is facing scrutiny regarding her legal credentials following her first inaugural press briefing on Tuesday. When asked to name the state where she passed the bar exam, Zacharia replied, “when I moved to China.” The Guardian US reports that no public record shows she has ever been licensed to practice law in the U.S. states where she has resided, though Zacharia maintains she practiced international transaction law with all appropriate credentials.

The Campaign for Accountability has filed a complaint with the State Bar of California, requesting an investigation into whether Zacharia broke the law by repeatedly presenting herself as a lawyer. The watchdog group noted that Zacharia has described herself as a lawyer during television appearances and listed herself as general counsel for a California-based conservative nonprofit.

While President Trump referred to her as an attorney during her appointment announcement, journalists have found no record of her being licensed in any U.S. state.

The State Bar of California confirmed to U.S. media that it has no record of Zacharia holding a license under her married or maiden name. Although the 41-year-old Zacharia graduated from Pepperdine University's law school in 2011, the New Straits Times notes that obtaining a law degree does not equate to being licensed to practice.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Guardian US, New Straits Times — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.