White House press secretary's legal credentials probed

New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia is facing mounting questions about her resume as she transitions into her role as the public face of the Trump administration.

Zacharia has long described herself as a lawyer as she has worked to establish herself as a commentator for outlets like Fox News and Newsmax. But so far, she and the White House have offered no evidence that she passed the bar exam in any state or in China, where she worked for a large law firm years ago.

The questions add to the confusion surrounding US President Donald Trump's decision to hire Zacharia, who had worked for his social media company for only a few months when he announced her appointment.

Trump was asked by reporters where Zacharia had passed the bar exam after a report by independent outlet Popular Information that there was no evidence that she ever passed a bar exam or had been admitted to practice law in any US state.

When asked after her inaugural press briefing on Tuesday to name the state where she passed the bar exam, Zacharia replied: "When I moved to China."

China's notoriously difficult National Unified Legal Professional Qualification Examination can only be taken by Chinese citizens.

Asked what credentials she held, the White House passed along a statement from Zacharia, who received a bachelor of arts degree from Pepperdine University in 2007 and received her law degree from Pepperdine Caruso School of Law in 2011, according to the school and her LinkedIn bio.

"I practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials," it read.

Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, added that Zacharia was "uniquely qualified and whip smart to help inform the American people about all the great things President Trump and his administration have been doing, and she will do an incredible job as press secretary."

According to her LinkedIn profile, Zacharia has been the senior communications adviser at the Trump Media & Technology Group since June and spent two months as deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year.

From 2011 to 2013, it says, she served as an associate on the International Practice Team at the Zhong Lun Law Firm in Beijing.

More recently, it says she served as general counsel for Fix California, a group started by Trump administration official Richard Grenell.

Neither the firm nor the groups responded to questions about her tenure and background.

Zacharia is not listed as a member of the state bar in California, where she currently resides, according to a public database.