President Donald Trump's new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia failed the California bar exam and has never passed one in the United States, despite repeatedly describing herself as a lawyer and being introduced by the president as an attorney.
The revelation has sparked fresh questions about the legal credentials of Trump's latest high-profile appointment, whose professional history includes working at a prestigious Chinese law firm and serving as general counsel for a political nonprofit.
Zacharia, who graduated from Pepperdine University's law school in 2011, sat for the California bar exam shortly afterward but failed, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told The Wall Street Journal.
She was preparing for her wedding and an international move to China with her future husband at the time, according to the source.
Despite never passing an American bar examination, Zacharia went on to build a career involving international legal transactions and regularly presented herself as a lawyer during television appearances.
Her credentials have now come under intense scrutiny after searches of attorney licensing records in California, Texas and Washington, D.C., failed to identify her as a registered attorney under either her married or maiden name.
The controversy intensified when progressive journalist Judd Legum raised questions about her professional qualifications in his Popular Information newsletter.
And when Zacharia was directly questioned by a reporter on Tuesday about which state had admitted her to the bar, her response did little to clear up the mystery.
White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia held her first press briefing as press secretary at the White House on Tuesday
Zacharia was directly questioned by a reporter on Tuesday about which state had admitted her to the bar, her response did little to clear up the mystery. 'When I moved to China,' she replied
'When I moved to China,' she replied, without providing any further explanation.
'I practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials,' Zacharia said in a statement this week.
On Wednesday evening, she spoke with The New York Times in an attempt to explain her answer.
'I assumed the question was, "Where were you after law school?"' she said.
'That's all I could hear over the sound of Marine One, and wanting to respect protocol, the distance behind the president, kept me from moving closer to hear the question,' she went on.
In a separate statement this week, Zacharia defended her professional background.
'I practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials,' she insisted.
The White House has also rallied behind its new press secretary, dismissing concerns about her suitability for the prominent communications role.
President Donald Trump's new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia failed the California bar exam and has never passed one in the United States
Zacharia insists she practiced international transaction law with appropriate credentials, while the White House defended her qualifications stressing she was not hired to perform legal work
'Katie is a fabulous and wonderful addition to the team,' White House spokesman Steven Cheung declared.
'She is uniquely qualified and whip smart to help inform the American people about all the great things President Trump and his Administration have been doing, and she will do an incredible job as Press Secretary.'
A White House official stressed that Trump had not appointed Zacharia to perform legal work.
The distinction is significant because the press secretary's responsibilities involve communicating administration policy and answering questions from journalists rather than providing legal advice.
Nevertheless, questions remain about Zacharia's previous use of the title 'lawyer' and the nature of her professional qualifications.
After graduating from Pepperdine, Zacharia relocated to Beijing in the summer of 2011 and joined Zhong Lun Law Firm, one of China's prominent legal practices.
There, she worked on international business transactions involving American and multinational corporations operating in China.
A person familiar with her employment told the Journal that Zacharia was among four international associates responsible for preparing agreements worth millions of dollars and communicating with corporate clients.
Crucially, the source explained that employees in the firm's international division were classified as international legal consultants and were not required to hold Chinese attorney licenses.