Watchdog: Zacharia’s exit doesn’t ‘wipe clean’ dispute over legal credentials

A D.C.-based ethics watchdog group that accused Katie Zacharia of misrepresenting herself as a lawyer is urging the State Bar of California to press ahead with an investigation into her credentials after she was reportedly ousted as White House press secretary.  

The Campaign for Accountability, which filed a bar complaint against Zacharia earlier this week, said her exit from the White House does not resolve allegations that she may have violated California law by portraying herself as a lawyer despite never being licensed to practice law.  

“The White House clearly recognized that keeping Katie Zacharia as Press Secretary was untenable given the facts that have come out about her conduct,” Michelle Kuppersmith, the group’s executive director, said in a Friday statement to The Hill.  

“Even so, her departure does not wipe clean the fact that she consistently, and apparently falsely, held herself out as a lawyer,” Kuppersmith added. “This is a crime in California, so we continue to urge the state’s Bar to investigate and impose any appropriate penalties.”  

The group filed its complaint Wednesday, the day after Zacharia’s brief tenure got off to a rocky start with a shaky first press briefing and scrutiny into her professional history.  

Zacharia, a graduate of Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, has often referred to herself in media appearances as a “lawyer” despite never having passed the bar exam. Her LinkedIn profile also referenced her role as “general counsel” for Fix California, a conservative nonprofit founded by President Trump ally and former administration official Richard Grenell.  

She has claimed to have worked as an associate on the International Practice Team of Beijing-based Zhong Lun Law Firm, and Trump described her as an “attorney” when he announced her as former press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s replacement.

When asked by reporters on the South Lawn this week which state she took the bar exam in, Zacharia replied, “When I moved to China.” She later said she misheard the question due to the noise of Marine One and assumed it was about where she went after law school.  

In subsequent interviews, she admitted she never passed the California bar exam, telling The New York Times the results were “somewhat inconsequential” since she was planning to move overseas at the time.

“It was never my intent to go into the practice of law,” Zacharia told Fox News’s Sean Hannity Thursday night. “When I went to go engage in media and give legal analysis, I consulted attorneys and legal professionals as to whether or not they agreed that I could be labeled a lawyer, both because I had a valid Juris Doctor from a good law school, a reputable law school, Pepperdine Law School, and in conjunction with the fact that I did have actual substantive legal experience.” 

The watchdog group alleges her use of the terms may have been unlawful because each representation “conveys to an ordinary listener that Ms. Zacharia is a licensed attorney entitled to practice law.” 

It is commonly believed the term “lawyer” refers to someone who has graduated from law school, while an “attorney” is someone who has passed the bar exam and is licensed to practice law in a specific jurisdiction. 

But the American Bar Association makes no such distinction, using the titles interchangeably to describe any “licensed professional who advises and represents others in legal matters.” Many state licensing statutes, including California’s, don’t either.  

California law asserts that “no person shall practice law” in the state unless that person is “an active member of the State Bar” and makes it a misdemeanor offense to unlawfully portray oneself as “practicing or entitled to practice law.” 

It remains to be seen what outcome could come from the complaint, if the State Bar of California even chooses to pursue it at all. Data compiled by Vitreo, an independent hub for judicial data, shows that disciplinary agencies process tens of thousands of complaints each year, and the vast majority are dismissed, screened out or resolved privately.

Because Zacharia is not a member of the California Bar, the agency can’t take any professional disciplinary action against her even if it identifies wrongdoing. It could, however, refer her for prosecution on criminal charges.  

The White House confirmed Friday afternoon that Zacharia was “transitioning out” of the role just five days after Trump announced her as his pick to fill the press secretary role.