Zacharia tells Guardian frequency of press briefings is 'unknown'

Watchdog asks State Bar to probe Zacharia’s ‘lawyer’ claim

Katie Zacharia, President Donald Trump’s new White House press secretary, told the Guardian on Thursday that how often she will hold press briefings is “unknown at this time,” as she faces questions over her legal credentials six days into the role.

In a brief interview with the Guardian on Thursday, Zacharia detailed the whirlwind sprint to replace her predecessor Karoline Leavitt as the US president’s chief spokesperson. Her first briefing on Tuesday, which the Guardian reported had been widely panned, came on her second day in the job. Zacharia said she was “asked to do” the briefing.

In the Guardian interview, Zacharia said Trump “is his best spokesperson, and I will interact as needed.” She added: “I follow the president’s lead.” She declined to clarify how often she intended to brief the press.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week, citing a person familiar with the matter, that Zacharia failed the California bar exam after graduating from law school. The State Bar of California told the Guardian it had no record of Zacharia being licensed in the state under either her married name or her maiden name, Katie Black.

During her debut briefing, reporters asked Zacharia to name the state where she passed the bar exam. “When I moved to China,” she responded, according to the Guardian. She later told the New York Times that she had “misheard” the question over the sound of Marine One on the South Lawn and thought the reporter had asked: “Where were you after law school?” The Times reported that Zacharia did not confirm to the outlet whether she had passed the bar exam.

In a separate interview with the conservative outlet Human Events on Thursday, Zacharia acknowledged to rightwing influencer Jack Posobiec that she did not pass the California bar. She said she was “distracted and overwhelmed and excited” to join her new husband in China, where he was working, after being in a long-distance relationship for more than a year.

A person familiar with the matter told the Guardian that Zacharia “stands by” referring to herself as a lawyer and considers the designation a “valid title,” given her law degree and “international transactional law experience.” The source said Zacharia made the designation after “consulting with other legal professionals and attorneys” about whether it was appropriate, adding that she had “never given legal advice” but only “legal analysis.” Many legal experts note that “lawyer” and “attorney” are often used interchangeably.

On Wednesday, the Campaign for Accountability, a non-profit watchdog organization, asked the State Bar of California to investigate whether Zacharia misled the public, and potentially violated state law, by describing herself as a lawyer. Trump has referred to Zacharia as an “attorney,” a title reserved for those licensed to practice law.

After her time at the Beijing law firm Zhong Lun from 2011 to 2013, according to her LinkedIn profile, there is a roughly 10-year gap before Zacharia claims to have served as “general counsel” for Fix California, a conservative group founded by Richard Grenell, a longtime Trump ally and the special presidential envoy for special missions. The Guardian reported it had approached both Zhong Lun and Fix California seeking additional details about Zacharia’s legal roles at the organizations.

Wired reported on Thursday that during that period, Zacharia worked as an “affiliate marketer” for Beachbody, a multi-level marketing company she described to the outlet as “sort of a pyramid scheme.”

Zacharia previously served as an adviser to Trump Media Group, which owns the president’s Truth Social platform, and had a brief stint as a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security. In her interview with Human Events, she said she “did not want to be seen lobbying” for the press secretary role, and instead closely monitored Trump’s social media posts before appearing on conservative talkshows to “audition” for the job.

The path to the briefing room was a whirlwind one. On Wednesday, October 7, a White House official called Zacharia and asked her to travel from Los Angeles, where she lives with her family, to Washington for a meeting. She declined to specify who made the call. She traveled the following day, met officials on Pennsylvania Avenue on Friday, was offered the job later that day and accepted. “I flew home, packed two bags, said hi to my kids and husband and dogs,” Zacharia said, before returning to Washington on Sunday ahead of her first day on Monday.

Asked by the Guardian what reasons the White House gave for offering her the position, Zacharia declined to comment. Trump, when announcing her selection, described her as a “devoted fan of Maga” who has an “unblemished record of support, and has been a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning.”