On Thursday, following revelations that new White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia never passed the bar despite her claims of being a lawyer, a prominent conservative news host took to social media to explain why the lie is a “big deal.” While many conservatives have scrambled to dismiss criticisms of Zacharia’s fabrication, according to NewsNation’s Katie Pavlich, not only is it illegal, but the bigger problem involves her role at the president’s side.
While Zacharia has spent years asserting that she is a lawyer, her story has crumbled over the past few days. Earlier this week, while joining the president for a trip to Alaska, reporters asked her where she had passed the bar exam. Her response, “I went to China,” baffled everyone, including a visibly shocked President Donald Trump. Then Zacharia told CBS News in a statement that she “practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials,” although it wasn’t clear which credentials she meant, as only Chinese nationals may take the bar exam in China. The Wall Street Journal then revealed that she had failed the California bar in 2011 and never attempted it again.
After that, she went on the podcast of conservative operative Jack Posobiec, where she admitted to failing the exam and claimed she never described herself as an “attorney at law,” saying that there was a “lot of misinformation around the fact that I labeled myself a lawyer.” As she put it, “I was very careful how I executed this. I never came across as someone who was an attorney at law.” But at CBS News reports, “On Fox News in April, Zacharia said she ‘lived in Beijing as a corporate lawyer for three years.’ Zacharia’s Instagram bio also says that she is a lawyer. On Truth Social, Mr. Trump called her ‘a distinguished Graduate of Pepperdine University, and the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, an attorney.’”
While many conservative voices have attempted to dismiss the debacle, Pavlich disagreed, writing, “Failing the California bar exam the first time is normal. Who cares? But this is not the issue. What is not normal is failing the exam and then lying for years about being a lawyer or attorney to get on television. It is illegal in California to present as a lawyer or attorney and especially to practice law without passing the bar. Presenting this way after passing the ethics exam – before failing the bar – makes it worse because an individual would know it is not okay. She did it anyway.” As Cornell Law professor Brad Wendel pointed out, these are laws that come with real consequences. “There is a specific provision on advertising or holding oneself out as a lawyer,” writes Wendel, “with potential criminal penalties attached.” According to California state law, offenders face up to one year in county jail.
But according to Pavlich, there is a problem beyond the legal implications. “Lying to the President of the United States about your resume to land a job is a big deal,” she asserted. “The President incorrectly and repeatedly stated she was an attorney because for years she said so. I’d hope more people would be upset about that. The issue is the dishonesty. All of this was preventable. What a shame.”