White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia failed the California bar exam in 2011, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, amid growing scrutiny about her legal credentials after a watchdog group filed a complaint seeking an investigation into whether she unlawfully presented herself as a lawyer.
Key Facts
Citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter, the Journal reported that Zacharia took the California bar exam after graduating from Pepperdine University School of Law in 2011 but failed.
The report said she took the exam while preparing for her wedding and a move to China with her future husband.
Zacharia passed the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, which tests knowledge of legal ethics and professional conduct, but clearing this standardized test alone doesn’t qualify someone to practice law.
Later that year, she moved to Beijing and worked as an associate at a prominent Chinese law firm, the report added.
It’s unclear whether Zacharia sat for a bar exam in any other state or retook it in California after 2011.
What Do We Know About The Complaint Against Zacharia?
Earlier on Wednesday, the nonprofit Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint with the California State Bar Association calling for a probe into Zacharia’s claims that she is a lawyer.
The press secretary has repeatedly described herself as a lawyer, and President Donald Trump also referred to her as an “attorney” while announcing her appointment.
A report earlier this week found that Zacharia was not listed as a licensed attorney in California, Texas or Washington, D.C.—three jurisdictions where she has previously worked. Wednesday’s complaint states that if Zacharia has “held herself out to the public as entitled to practice law without a license to do so,” California law treats the conduct “as a crime.”
Tangent
Zacharia’s appointment as press secretary has drawn criticism from some Pepperdine University alumni, where she earned her law degree in 2011. Last week, the university posted a congratulatory message on its official LinkedIn page after Zacharia’s appointment as press secretary, prompting some criticism in the comments.
Former Rep. Wiley Nickel, D-California, also a Pepperdine alumnus, told SFGATE he was “very disappointed to see Pepperdine engaging in partisan hackery for Donald Trump.
