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Humiliating Truth About Katie Zacharia’s Legal Claims Exposed

The story of Katie Zacharia’s past has taken a new twist.

Katie Zacharia

Photo Illustration by Victoria Sunday/The Daily Beast/Getty Images/Reuters

White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia, it turns out, did not pass the bar exam, despite claiming to be a lawyer.

Zacharia, The Wall Street Journal reports, failed the bar exam at Pepperdine University in 2011, after graduating from law school there.

Afterward, Zacharia joined the Zhong Lun Law Firm in Beijing as an associate on its international practice team. A person with direct knowledge of the matter said lawyers told Zacharia she could give legal analysis as a result of her law degree and her international transaction experience.

Questions arose about the 41-year-old’s credentials partly from the newsletter Popular Information, and partly from Zacharia’s own nonsensical response to reporters’ inquiries on Tuesday.

When asked outside the White House what state she passed the bar in, Zacharia replied, “When I moved to China.” In a statement, she still didn’t answer: “I practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials.”

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When reached for comment, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told the Daily Beast that Zacharia “is a fabulous and wonderful addition to the team.”

“She is 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,” he added.

Zacharia, the Journal reports, did pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, which tests knowledge of legal and professional ethics. Pepperdine law professor Robert Pushaw called her “a good law student and a genuinely good person,” but he did not describe her as an attorney.

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Fox News repeatedly referred to her as an "attorney" despite there being no evidence as such.

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Another former law professor of hers, Roger Alford, told the Journal that Zacharia was a “star” a the California university, adding that the public should “get to know her before they prejudge her.”

First impressions of Zacharia at the White House podium were generally poor, with a White House official even telling MS NOW that while the job is “tough” and that “she got off on the wrong foot,” she “needs to get much better, fast.”

On the record, though, the White House issued a lengthy press release saying their new press secretary “delivered a commanding inaugural press briefing” that created “wall-to-wall coverage” and served “as a strong introduction to her tenure.”

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Zacharia’s debut only lasted 14 minutes, and she took just three questions. At one point during her stilted delivery, she mixed up President Trump with her husband.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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