Trump press secretary Katie Zacharia faces scrutiny over claims she’s a lawyer
Politics
The questions add to the confusion surrounding President Donald Trump’s determination to rent Zacharia.
NEW YORK (AP) — The brand new White Home press secretary is going through mounting questions on her background and resume as she transitions into her function as the general public face of the Trump administration.
Katie Zacharia has lengthy described herself as a lawyer as she has labored to ascertain herself as a commentator for conservative retailers like Fox Information and Newsmax. However up to now, she and the White Home have supplied no proof that she handed the bar examination in any state or in China, the place she labored for a big legislation agency years in the past.
The questions add to the confusion surrounding President Donald Trump’s determination to rent Zacharia, who had labored for his social media firm for only some months when he introduced her appointment and whose debut on the podium on Tuesday has been extensively panned.
Afterward, the president was requested by reporters the place Zacharia had handed the bar examination, following a report by the impartial outlet Well-liked Info that she didn’t look like licensed in any state.
Trump stepped apart to permit Zacharia to reply.
“After I moved to China,” she responded over the sound of Marine One whirring within the background. It isn’t clear what she had meant to say or whether or not she had completed the sentence.
China’s notoriously troublesome Nationwide Unified Authorized Skilled Qualification Examination can solely be taken by Chinese language residents.
Requested what credentials she held, the White Home handed alongside a press release from Zacharia, who acquired a bachelor of arts diploma from Pepperdine College in 2007 and acquired her legislation diploma from Pepperdine Caruso College of Regulation in 2011, in keeping with the college and her LinkedIn bio.
“I practiced worldwide transaction legislation, with all the suitable credentials,” it learn.
Steven Cheung, the White Home communications director, added that Zacharia was “uniquely certified and whip good to assist inform the American individuals about all the good issues President Trump and his Administration have been doing, and she is going to do an unimaginable job as press secretary.”
A resume below scrutiny
In accordance with her LinkedIn profile, Zacharia has been the senior communications adviser on the Trump Media & Know-how Group since June and spent two months as deputy assistant secretary for public affairs on the Division of Homeland Safety earlier this yr.
From 2011 to 2013, it says, she served as an affiliate on the Worldwide Observe Group on the Zhong Lun Regulation Agency in Beijing. She additionally labored because the supervisor of fundraising and communications for Compassion for Migrant Youngsters, which assists the youngsters of migrant employees, from 2012 to 2013.
Extra just lately, it says she served as common counsel for Repair California, a bunch began by Trump administration official Richard Grenell.
Neither the agency nor the 2 teams responded to questions on her tenure and background.
Zacharia has lengthy known as herself a lawyer. On Instagram, she describes herself because the White Home press secretary, “Spouse, Mother, & Lawyer” (with 4 coronary heart emojis after “Mother”).
And her official creator web page on the California Globe, the place she wrote occasional commentary, says that, along with being a “common commentator on Fox Information, Newsmax,” she has “intensive expertise in political advocacy, worldwide company legislation, and non-profit work, together with time as outdoors counsel for the World Financial institution and IFC in Beijing.”
A June 2026 press launch from NovaRed Mining Inc. asserting her appointment to the corporate’s advisory board, which was first reported by Well-liked Info, mentioned her “skilled expertise consists of work associated to worldwide authorized and monetary transactions, together with issues involving organizations related to the World Financial institution Group and the Worldwide Finance Company throughout her tenure with Zhong Lun Regulation Agency in Beijing.”
In asserting her rent on his social media website, Trump described Zacharia as “a distinguished Graduate of Pepperdine College, and the Pepperdine Caruso College of Regulation, an legal professional, and a frequent Commentator on retailers, together with Fox Information and Newsmax.”
“She has an unblemished file of help, and has been a loyal and good supporter, proper from the start. She is, likewise, a loyal fan and member of MAGA!” he added.
‘No Report’ discovered
Zacharia just isn’t listed as a member of the state bar in California, the place she presently resides, in keeping with a public database.
Rick Coca, a spokesperson for the State Bar of California, a regulatory company that oversees state licensing, mentioned in a press release that they’ve “no file of Kate Sharon Zacharia or Kate Sharon Black” or any model of her married or maiden names “having been licensed to observe legislation in California.”
Well-liked Info mentioned the identical was the case in all 50 states that they had queried, plus Washington, D.C.
In response, the watchdog group Marketing campaign for Accountability filed a criticism Wednesday with the State Bar of California asking them to analyze whether or not Zacharia misrepresented herself as a lawyer in violation of California legislation.
“In California, calling your self a lawyer and not using a license isn’t puffery; it’s against the law. The State Bar ought to examine whether or not Ms. Zacharia has misled the general public about her credentials and maintain her accountable if she has,” mentioned CfA Govt Director Michelle Kuppersmith in a press release.
The State Bar mentioned they might not affirm whether or not they had acquired the criticism or have been conducting an investigation, citing confidentiality legal guidelines.
