When new White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia was asked where she passed the bar, with even Trump asking what state she passed the bar in, Zacharia oddly responded: “in China.”
This raised alarm bells because the rules to be an attorney in China are strict, and Zacharia can’t call herself a lawyer if she never passed the bar exam.
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It turns out Trump’s new press secretary never passed the bar.
The Wall Street Journal reported:
Zacharia sat for the California bar exam after graduating from law school at Pepperdine University in 2011, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, but she didn’t pass. She took the exam around the time she was planning a wedding and preparing to move to China with her future husband, the person said.
She moved to Beijing that summer to work as an associate on the international practice team at Zhong Lun Law Firm, a prominent law firm in China. Zacharia was later advised by lawyers that she could provide legal analysis based on her law degree and international transaction experience, the person said.
Zacharia worked as an international legal consultant, but she did not practice law in China, so she was not required to be licensed.
In the United States, a person can’t call themselves a lawyer without being licensed in the state where they are practicing.
The White House has a big problem, and investigations are being requested in California.