Records show no bar admission in states where Zacharia lived
White House press secretary Katie Zacharia faces a complaint and scrutiny over her repeated claim to be a lawyer, after a Guardian review found no public record showing she has been licensed to practice law in any US state where she has resided. The nonprofit watchdog Campaign for Accountability asked the California State Bar on Wednesday to investigate whether Zacharia violated state law by holding herself out as a lawyer without a license.
The Guardian described Zacharia’s first White House briefing on Tuesday as shaky and widely panned. At the briefing, a reporter asked President Donald Trump which state Zacharia had passed the bar exam in. Trump, who had described her as an attorney when announcing her appointment, turned to her and asked, “Which state?” Zacharia replied, “when I moved to China.”
In a later statement to the press, Zacharia said she had “practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials.” The White House did not say whether Zacharia had passed a bar exam anywhere. Independent reviews by The Washington Post, CNN and the newsletter Popular Information have each reported finding no record of her admission to a state bar.
The Guardian said it checked 38 states, as well as the District of Columbia and the US Virgin Islands, where state attorney lists were publicly available, and found no record of Zacharia’s registration. The State Bar of California told the Guardian it had no record of her being licensed there — under “Kate Sharon Zacharia or Kate Sharon Black (or Katie in both instances).” Black is her maiden name.
“In California, calling yourself a lawyer without a license isn’t puffery; it’s a crime,” said Michelle Kuppersmith, Campaign for Accountability’s executive director, in announcing the complaint. California law says anyone “advertising or holding himself or herself out as practicing or entitled to practice law” who is not an active member of the state bar could be punished with a fine of up to $1,000 and up to one year in jail.
Richard Painter, a University of Minnesota law professor and the former chief White House ethics lawyer under the George W Bush administration, said: “There is a difference between having a JD and being a lawyer, you are licensed as a lawyer by saying that you took the bar.” “Calling yourself an attorney … it’s a misdemeanor at least,” Painter added. Zacharia’s LinkedIn profile notes that she was remote while at Fix California, but Painter said that was “not relevant – you need to be a member of the bar.”
Zacharia’s law degree is real: Pepperdine University confirmed she graduated from its law school in 2011. But, as the independent newsletter Popular Information noted, “a degree is not a license, and no record has surfaced showing she was admitted to practice.”
Her LinkedIn profile lists Zacharia as general counsel of Fix California, a conservative group founded by Ric Grenell, a longtime Trump ally and the special presidential envoy for special missions. Her profile notes she worked remotely for the group and previously worked as an associate at the Beijing firm Zhong Lun from 2011 to 2013. Only Chinese citizens can be licensed as lawyers in China, according to Chinese law and the legal affairs website China Justice Observer; foreign staff can work at Chinese firms in other capacities.
The State Bar of California told the Guardian it can “only confirm whether someone passed the bar exam, not whether they took the bar exam,” citing confidentiality laws. The Washington Post, CNN and Popular Information each reported finding no sign of admission elsewhere, including in Texas and Washington, DC, where Popular Information said Zacharia had worked. The Post said it found no active or expired admissions under either of her names.
The Guardian and other outlets have reviewed since-deleted social media posts from Zacharia’s accounts. In a series of now-deleted posts on X reviewed by the Guardian, Zacharia praised Elon Musk, minimized his appearance in a widely circulated photograph with Ghislaine Maxwell, the co-conspirator of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and shared comments accusing prominent political figures and Hollywood elites of pedophilia. The Bulwark and CNN have separately reported on posts from Zacharia’s accounts calling for the administration to “suspend habeas corpus” — the constitutional right to challenge detention before a judge — and sharing comments about the longtime Democratic operative John Podesta, the notable target of the debunked Pizzagate conspiracy that alleged several prominent Democrats were part of a child sex-trafficking ring.
In a since-deleted May 22, 2022, post on X, Zacharia described Musk, a tech billionaire and Trump ally, as “based.” She went on to explain the term was applied “when you want to recognize someone for being themselves” and “courageous and unique or not caring what others think.” In another post from the same year, in response to a user sharing the widely circulated picture of Musk and Maxwell at the Vanity Fair Oscar party in 2014, Zacharia wrote “oh please, he already responded to this #oldnews.” Musk has not been charged with any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and has denied knowing Maxwell, claiming the photo, which shows her standing close to him, was because she “photobombed” him.
In other now-deleted posts from the same period, Zacharia directed various complimentary messages at Musk. “#IstandwithElon,” she wrote in one. In another she praised him for renouncing his support for the Democratic party and saying he would now support Republicans. “Smartest and richest man in the world right here is saying out loud what everyone else is thinking,” Zacharia wrote.
Last year, while appearing as a guest on conservative commentator Buck Sexton’s podcast, Zacharia questioned whether Musk could have been trusted “from the beginning.” “He’s heavily invested in China. A lot of people were questioning his allegiance to begin with. Where is his allegiance completely?” she asked on the show. In late 2025, Musk and Trump had a public falling out over the president’s sweeping domestic policy legislation. They have since reconciled, and Musk, according to the New York Times, is spending record sums to help Republicans retain control of the midterm elections this cycle.
No report alleges that Zacharia has been charged with or has committed an offence. Steven Cheung, the White House director of communications, described her briefing performance as “tremendous” and “commanding.” On X, the press office of California Governor Gavin Newsom mocked the exchange over her bar admission, asking whether the new press secretary “appears to be a Chinese lawyer.”
Trump announced Zacharia’s selection last week as his next press secretary, succeeding Karoline Leavitt, who departed earlier this year.