White House press secretary Katie Zacharia says she failed bar exam

WASHINGTON: New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia said she did not pass the bar exam, addressing scrutiny over her legal career before becoming the chief spokeswoman for US President Donald Trump.

Zacharia, who joined the White House on Monday, has previously said she practised law before entering politics. Trump has also described her as an attorney.

She acknowledged that she had not passed the bar exam during an interview on Fox News’ Hannity programme late on Thursday.

“You did not pass the bar exam, correct?” she was asked during the interview.

“Correct,” she said in response to the host, Sean Hannity.

“I did not,” she said when Hannity asked if she ever took the bar exam a second time.

Zacharia earned her law degree from Pepperdine University in 2011, according to the university. Nearly all licensed US lawyers first obtain a law degree, but law school graduates cannot legally practice law in the US without first being admitted to a state bar.

On Tuesday during her first briefing, she took questions from just three reporters before ending the event in under 15 minutes. Her performance was criticised by some media commentators and political analysts, though Trump told reporters, “I thought she was very good.”

When asked about her performance by Hannity, she said: “What I feel is I really stepped up to the plate to do the press conference, Sean, with very little prep time.”

Earlier California’s State Bar confirmed it had no licensing record under either her married or maiden name. Zacharia graduated from Pepperdine University’s law school in 2011, but The Wall Street Journal reported that she failed the California bar exam. Foreign nationals cannot take China’s bar exam, although certain legal work is permitted at Chinese law firms. Zacharia previously worked at a Beijing law firm.

Zacharia replaced Karoline Leavitt, who stepped down in August.