New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia, who faced scrutiny about her legal career before becoming the top spokeswoman for US President Donald Trump, said on Thursday she did not pass the bar exam.
Zacharia, who joined the White House on Monday, previously said she practiced law before entering politics.
President Donald Trump had called her "an attorney" in a social media post last week announcing her role in his administration. She has referred to herself as a lawyer.
"You did not pass the bar exam, correct?" she was asked in an interview on Fox News' "Hannity" show late on Thursday.
"Correct," she said in response to the host. She said he had graduated Pepperdine and got married in the same week.
White House communications director Steven Cheung defended Zacharia. He was quoted by BBC as saying that Zacharia is "uniquely qualified and whip smart to help inform the American people".
‘Bar results are somewhat inconsequential because…’
She said she had "all intent to move out to China." Zacharia clarified in her interview out Thursday. She said the results of the bar exam were "somewhat inconsequential" because she knew she would be moving to China afterward where she worked in international transaction law.
"I'll take the bar and see what happens," Zacharia said of her mindset at the time. She added, “The results are somewhat inconsequential because I knew I wouldn't need the bar in China, and — and we left shortly thereafter. And after moving to China, I think — I didn't — I didn't really think much of the bar results or consider that something that I needed to focus on, and I was offered a job at a — in an international practice division of a — of a Chinese law firm.”
When asked if she take the bar exam the second time, Zacharia said, “I did not, Sean.”
Her comment came amid scrutiny over whether Zacharia passed the bar after Popular Information reported earlier this week that there was no evidence she was licensed to practice law. There was also a Wall Street Journal report saying that Zacharia sat for the bar in 2011 but did not pass.
Can Zacharia call herself a lawyer?
Zacharia earned her law degree from Pepperdine University in 2011, according to the university, Reuters reported.
Zacharia took the California bar exam after graduating from Pepperdine Caruso School of Law but did not pass, sources told ABC news.
Nearly all licensed US lawyers first obtain a law degree, but law school graduates cannot legally practice law in the US without first being admitted to a state bar.
According to Fox News, Katie Zacharia said she never retook the bar exam, but maintains she had a legitimate basis for calling herself a lawyer during television appearances.
The Pepperdine Law graduate told the media outlet that she consulted attorneys before using the title ‘lawyer’, citing her law degree and previous legal experience. She said she was advised by the university president that she could call herself a lawyer, but not an attorney.
Zacharia said she wasn't practicing law or getting paid to provide legal advice, insisting her television appearances focused on general analysis of legal matters.
"I consulted, for a very long time, many people in the field: 'Is it OK and acceptable if I label myself "lawyer," not "attorney at law," not "Katie Zacharia, Esquire," but "lawyer," and provide legal analysis, not legal advice?,' And they said 'absolutely, absolutely,' across the board. 'You can call yourself a lawyer, you have a JD, and to buffer that, you have international legal experience in transactional law, which gives you the ability to analyze it, not necessarily give advice,'" Zacharia told Real America's Voice.
On Tuesday during her first briefing, she took questions from just three reporters before ending the event in under 15 minutes.
Her performance was criticized by some media commentators and political analysts, though Trump told reporters, "I thought she was very good."
When asked about her performance by Hannity, she said: "What I feel is I really stepped up to the plate to do the press conference, Sean, with very little prep time."