TRUMP PRESS SECRETARY FACES SCRUTINY OVER LAWYER CLAIM

Katie Zacharia, Donald Trump's newly appointed press secretary, has described herself as a lawyer, but no public record shows she has been licensed to practise law in the US states where she has lived, according to a review by the Guardian. At her first press briefing on Tuesday, a reporter asked which state she had passed the bar exam in. Zacharia replied, "when I moved to China." Trump, who had introduced Zacharia as an attorney when announcing her appointment, turned to her during the briefing and asked, "Which state?" The Guardian's review found she was not registered in 38 states, Washington DC or the Virgin Islands, where attorney lists were publicly available.

Zacharia's law degree is genuine; Pepperdine University confirmed she graduated from its law school in 2011. A degree does not amount to a licence to practise, however, and no record has emerged showing she was ever admitted to the bar, according to a report by Popular Information. In a later statement, Zacharia said she had "practised international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials." The White House did not say whether she had passed a bar exam in any jurisdiction. Her LinkedIn profile lists her as general counsel of Fix California, a group founded by Ric Grenell, a long-time Trump ally who holds the role of special presidential envoy for special missions.

Zacharia lived in California, but the state bar there said it holds no record of her being licensed under either of two names linked to her, Kate Sharon Zacharia or Kate Sharon Black, a spokesperson confirmed. Her debut briefing drew widespread criticism, and the Independent reported that commentators had begun speculating over how long she might remain in post. The White House has not indicated whether it will release further details of her legal credentials. The scrutiny over her professional background follows directly from her own description of herself as a practising lawyer.