Questions raised over Katie Zacharia’s claimed bar exam experience in China

It’s not clear if new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia ever actually worked as an attorney—but it is becoming increasingly clear that she was previously connected to the Chinese government in the past.Speaking alongside Donald Trump Tuesday, Zacharia informed reporters inquiring about her self-purported legal qualifications that she passed the bar exam when she “moved to China.”Popular Info’s Judd Legum found that, after analyzing state bar association databases from all 50 states and Washington, Zacharia never actually passed the qualifying legal exam anywhere in the country. But she couldn’t have passed the Chinese equivalent of the bar exam, either, as it’s actually forbidden for foreigners to do so.Zacharia’s LinkedIn work history places her at Zhong Lun, an elite Chinese multinational law firm, between 2011 and 2013. She worked at the Beijing-based firm as an associate on the international practice team, months after she obtained her JD from Pepperdine Caruso Law. Zacharia’s LinkedIn also notes that she spoke Chinese at an “elementary proficiency.”Like many major Chinese businesses, Zhong Lung operates in an environment in which it can be influenced by the regional government. Since it was founded in 1993, the firm has provided legal services to numerous Chinese government agencies and state-owned enterprises. Some of those entities include China’s Ministry of Justice, People’s Bank of China, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and other regulatory bodies, according to the firm’s webpage.Within that same time period, Zacharia also worked as the manager of fundraising and communications at Compassion for Migrant Children, a Beijing-based nonprofit that provided education and material support to rural migrant workers. The group also noted in an archived profile that it “engage[d] the Chinese government and local educational officials for greater and longer lasting impact.”

White House press secretary Katie Zacharia is facing scrutiny about her legal qualifications after she was pressed to explain them.

Katie Zacharia, US President Donald Trump’s newly appointed White House press secretary, faces questions about her legal credentials after telling reporters on Tuesday that she passed a bar exam “when I moved to China”, without identifying the jurisdiction. Zacharia, who has repeatedly described herself as a lawyer, made the remark after her first official White House press briefing. According to her LinkedIn profile, she worked as an associate at Zhong Lun Law Firm, one of China’s largest, in...

President Donald Trump claimed Katie Zacharia is an “attorney,” but her bar credentials are unclear.

Katie Zacharia previously worked for a Chinese law firm and as ‘general counsel’ for a right-wing advocacy group

President Trump’s new press secretary Katie Zacharia raised eyebrows on Tuesday when she was asked where she passed the bar exam, telling reporters that she did so when she moved to China. Zacharia made the remarks on the White House South Lawn alongside Trump before heading to Alaska with him for a campaign rally. “Where...

The incoming White House press secretary has made a name for herself as an on-air legal expert, claiming she’s an attorney. But is she?Katie Zacharia is not actually licensed to practice law anywhere in the country, according to a report published Tuesday by Popular Info’s Judd Legum.The 42-year-old obtained her JD from Pepperdine Caruso Law in 2011, according to her LinkedIn profile. Her work history also includes a gig as “general counsel” for a Ric Grenell–operated nonprofit based in California, but Legum found she held no credentials to practice law there. Zacharia is not listed as a member of the bar in Texas or Washington, D.C., either, despite evidence that she also worked there in a legal capacity.In fact, after analyzing state bar association databases from all 50 states and Washington, Legum found that Zacharia never actually passed the qualifying legal exam anywhere.In an emailed response about Zacharia’s dubious resume, the White House referred Legum to Donald Trump’s Friday Truth Social post, in which he declared Zacharia’s appointment under the pretext that she is a “distinguished Graduate of Pepperdine University, and the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, an attorney, and a frequent Commentator on outlets, including Fox News and Newsmax.”The White House did not offer any other supporting evidence for Zacharia’s work history.But holding a JD is not enough to be an attorney—it is merely the educational bare minimum. To actually be an attorney, Zacharia would need to pass a state bar.That’s not her only smudged truth. Zacharia has previously claimed that the abortion pill, mifepristone, came straight from Nazi Germany, and used her Truth Social account to elevate the Pizzagate conspiracy, which baselessly accused Hillary Clinton and other prominent Democrats of participating in a child sex trafficking ring in the basement of a Washington pizzeria named Comet Ping Pong. (In 2016, the unfounded Pizzagate murmurs inspired an armed gunman to drive up from North Carolina and open fire inside the restaurant, only to discover the facility has no basement and was not holding children captive.)