Trump’s press secretary Katie Zacharia admits she failed the bar exam

New White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia acknowledged on Thursday that she had failed the bar exam, the test required to practise law in the United States. The admission came as her legal credentials face growing scrutiny.

Zacharia has described herself as a lawyer during television appearances and on social media. She also listed herself as general counsel of a California-based conservative nonprofit. President Donald Trump appointed her press secretary last week.

How the Katie Zacharia bar exam controversy unfolded

Questions about her credentials surfaced after she gave an inconclusive answer about where she had passed the bar exam. The 41-year-old graduated from Pepperdine University’s law school in 2011, but a law degree alone does not qualify anyone to practise law in the US.

In a Fox News interview on Thursday, host Sean Hannity asked her directly: “You took the bar exam, but you didn’t pass the bar exam, correct?” She answered: “Yes.”

In a separate interview with the conservative outlet Real America’s Voice the same day, Zacharia said she had registered to take the exam but was “distracted and overwhelmed” by plans to move to China with her husband. “The results are somewhat inconsequential because I knew I wouldn’t need the bar in China,” she said.

“I did not” retake the exam

Hannity later asked whether she had ever taken the bar exam a second time. “I did not,” she replied. “I had four kids in six years. It was never my intent to go into the practice of law.”

Zacharia told Real America’s Voice that “many people in the field” had assured her she could “label myself a lawyer”, pointing to her law degree and her experience in business law in China, where she worked at a Beijing law firm. She said she could “provide legal analysis, not legal advice”, adding: “I was very careful how I executed this.”

That defence has not settled the matter. The Campaign for Accountability, a political ethics organisation, called on Wednesday for the California Bar Association to open an investigation. “In California, calling yourself a lawyer without a license isn’t puffery; it’s a crime,” the group said in a press release.

A rocky start at the podium

Zacharia held her first White House press briefing on Tuesday. It was an unusually short session, with questions taken from only three journalists. She succeeds Karoline Leavitt, a loyal Trump supporter known for her combative briefings, who stepped down in August to care for her young children.

The episode adds to a turbulent stretch for the Trump administration’s public-facing team. Trump has kept a tight grip on messaging as he weighs major foreign policy decisions, including ruling out an attack on Iran before the midterms. His meeting with Shehbaz Sharif at a UN banquet last month signalled continued engagement with Pakistan, while his administration’s revocation of 250,000 US visas has drawn global attention.

Why the bar exam matters

In the United States, passing a state bar exam is the gateway to practising law. Each state sets its own test, and California’s is among the toughest, with pass rates that often sit below fifty per cent for first-time takers. Calling oneself a lawyer without a licence can carry criminal penalties in several states, which is why the ethics complaint has teeth even though Zacharia says she never intended to practise.

Whether the California Bar acts on the complaint will decide if this remains a political embarrassment or becomes a legal problem.

*Source: Dawn*

Frequently asked questions

Did Katie Zacharia pass the bar exam?

No. She admitted on Fox News on Thursday that she took the bar exam but did not pass it, and confirmed she never retook it.

Why is calling yourself a lawyer without a licence serious?

In California and several other US states, presenting yourself as a lawyer without a licence can be a criminal offence, not merely an exaggeration.

Who did Katie Zacharia replace as press secretary?

She succeeded Karoline Leavitt, who stepped down in August to care for her young children.