Trump press secretary Katie Zacharia says she passed bar exam in China, raising eyebrows

Katie Zacharia, US President Donald Trump’s newly appointed White House press secretary, faces questions about her legal credentials after telling reporters on Tuesday that she passed a bar exam “when I moved to China”, without identifying the jurisdiction.

Zacharia, who has repeatedly described herself as a lawyer, made the remark after her first official White House press briefing. According to her LinkedIn profile, she worked as an associate at Zhong Lun Law Firm, one of China’s largest, in Beijing from 2011 to 2013.

A review by the South China Morning Post of attorney registration records in New York, the District of Columbia, California, Texas and Florida found no listing for Zacharia. Independent journalist Judd Legum separately reported finding no evidence that she had been admitted to practise law in any of the 50 US states or Washington, DC.

Passing a bar examination and being admitted to practise law are separate steps. The searches do not establish whether Zacharia passed an examination.