Katie Zacharia, the new White House press secretary, addressed questions regarding her legal qualifications in an interview with Real America’s Voice. In the interview, she revealed that she did not pass the California bar exam in 2011, a fact reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal. Zacharia explained that her decision to take the bar exam was influenced by her long-distance relationship with her husband, Tyler, who was working in Beijing, China, at the time. She stated, "I had already pre-registered to take the bar and I didn’t wanna withdraw from that. And we knew we would be moving out to China."
After moving to China in 2011, Zacharia worked as an associate at the law firm Zhong Lun, where she claimed her role involved handling cross-border transactions. She noted that there is no Chinese bar, and her law degree allowed her to practice there. Gary Gao, a partner at Zhong Lun, characterized her position as similar to a paid internship.
Zacharia acknowledged that her labeling herself as a "lawyer" led to confusion, stating, "A lot of the misinformation, miscommunication... is around the fact that I labeled myself ‘lawyer.’" She mentioned consulting with peers about the appropriateness of her title and received affirmation that she could call herself a lawyer based on her qualifications.
The situation drew scrutiny after Judd Legum from Popular Information reported that there was no evidence of her passing the bar exam or being licensed to practice law. Following this, the watchdog group Campaign for Accountability requested an investigation by the State Bar of California regarding her claims. The group emphasized the importance of public trust in the qualifications of individuals representing the President of the United States.