White House defends new press secretary Katie Zacharia amid scrutiny over legal credentials

The White House is defending its new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, as she faces scrutiny over her legal credentials. President Donald Trump described Zacharia as an attorney when announcing her appointment last week, and she has referred to herself as a lawyer. However, when asked by a reporter on Tuesday about the state in which she passed the bar exam required to practice law in the US, she responded, "When I moved to China." Zacharia does not appear to be registered with the bar in any state where she has lived. White House communications director Steven Cheung stated that Zacharia is "uniquely qualified and whip smart to help inform the American people." In response to questions about her credentials, Zacharia said in a statement this week, "I practised international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials." On Wednesday, the watchdog group Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint with the California State Bar Association, seeking an investigation into whether Zacharia "repeatedly held herself out to the public as entitled to practice law without a license to do so, conduct California law treats as a crime." The 42-year-old political strategist graduated from law school at Pepperdine University in California in 2011, as confirmed by the university. A law degree is not a license to practice law in the US. Zacharia told the New York Times on Wednesday that when she first began appearing on cable news, she asked Pepperdine how she should identify herself. She stated that she was advised by the university president that she could call herself a lawyer, but not an attorney. Zacharia took the bar exam in California after graduating from law school but did not pass, according to the Wall Street Journal. California's bar exam is known to be one of the most difficult in the US. A person with direct knowledge of the matter informed the outlet that Zacharia took the exam around the same time she was planning a wedding and preparing to move to China with her husband-to-be. She relocated to Beijing due to her husband's job at an American private equity firm. Zacharia has indicated that she worked on "international transaction law" while in China. Her LinkedIn profile states that she was an associate at Zhong Lun Law Firm in Beijing from 2011 to 2013. In China, only Chinese citizens are eligible to obtain a license to practice law, while foreign employees may work at law firms in other roles. In February of last year, Zacharia mentioned on the conservative radio program The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show that she had worked as outside counsel for the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank during her time in China. The BBC has contacted the World Bank and IFC for comment. It is understood that the World Bank Group sometimes retains outside law firms, which decide which of their lawyers are assigned to specific parts of any work. Zacharia has also served as general counsel for Fix California, a conservative non-profit started by Trump ally Ric Grenell, according to her LinkedIn profile.