{
  "id": 14572456,
  "title": "Trump’s new press secretary faces scrutiny over credentials",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/trumps-new-press-secretary-faces-scrutiny-over-credentials-14572456",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-14T23:19:57.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/10/15/trump-s-new-press-secretary-faces-scrutiny-over-credentials"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Washington: A watchdog group has lodged a complaint with the State Bar of California, questioning the legal credentials of President Donald Trump's new press secretary, Katie Zacharia. The Campaign for Accountability alleges that Zacharia has presented herself as a licensed attorney without holding a valid law license in any U.S. state. This followed a poor debut as press secretary, during which she struggled with answers and referred to the president as her husband. Zacharia graduated from Pepperdine University's law school in 2011 but may not be licensed to practice law. She once held a position at a Beijing law firm. Her performance has drawn criticism, including from former press secretary Jen Psaki, who likened her to a Saturday Night Live comedy sketch. Despite the controversy, Trump insisted on Tuesday that he thought Zacharia was \"very good.\"",
  "summary": "Katie Zacharia gave an inconclusive answer about where she had passed the bar exam after the US president had described her as 'an attorney'.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 8,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Hill",
        "title": "Harris to Trump on press ban: 'Why don't you just leave?'",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/harris-to-trump-on-press-ban-why-dont-you-just-leave",
        "published": "2026-10-14T15:08:08.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "New Voice of Ukraine",
        "title": "New Trump press secretary shared pro-Putin and Pizzagate posts in 2022",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/new-trump-press-secretary-shared-pro-putin-and-pizzagate-posts-in-2022",
        "published": "2026-10-14T15:32:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "Trump's new press secretary faces scrutiny over credentials",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/trumps-new-press-secretary-faces-scrutiny-over-credentials",
        "published": "2026-10-14T17:32:09.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Guardian US",
        "title": "Trump’s new press secretary says she passed bar exam ‘when I moved to China’, raising questions of US authority",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/trumps-new-press-secretary-says-she-passed-bar-exam-when-i-moved-to",
        "published": "2026-10-14T19:12:29.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Punch",
        "title": "Trump’s new press secretary faces scrutiny over credentials",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/trumps-new-press-secretary-faces-scrutiny-over-credentials-14535680",
        "published": "2026-10-14T21:06:54.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Trump’s new press secretary faces scrutiny over credentials",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/trumps-new-press-secretary-faces-scrutiny-over-credentials-14567678",
        "published": "2026-10-14T23:19:57.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Trump press secretary Katie Zacharia faces scrutiny over claims she's a lawyer",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/trump-press-secretary-katie-zacharia-faces-scrutiny-over-claims-shes",
        "published": "2026-10-14T23:32:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}