Trump’s new press secretary Katie Zacharia defends ‘lawyer’ title

Newly appointed White House press secretary Katie Zacharia has drawn scrutiny over her claims she is a lawyer. Photo / Getty Images

New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia, under scrutiny over her legal credentials, appears to have acknowledged she failed the bar exam but argues she was accurate in presenting herself as a lawyer.

Appointed by US President Donald Trump, Zacharia has described herself as a lawyer during television appearances and on social media, and listed herself as general counsel of a California-based conservative non-profit.

But no evidence suggests the 41-year-old press secretary passed the bar exam, which is required to obtain a licence to practise law in the United States, after graduating from Pepperdine University with a law degree.