Press Secretary Zacharia's claim she passed the bar "in China" falls apart
Katie Zacharia told reporters she passed the bar exam when she moved to China; researchers and reporters say no evidence exists and foreign nationals couldn't sit the exam.
What to know
- Zacharia, introduced by Trump as "an attorney," could not or would not name a U.S. state where she passed the bar when asked directly.
- Popular Information found no record of her being admitted to practice law in California, Texas, D.C., or any other U.S. jurisdiction.
- Reporting from Talking Points Memo and the South China Morning Post indicates foreign nationals were legally barred from taking China's bar exam at the time she worked there, making her stated explanation implausible.
- The episode follows a poorly received debut press briefing, intensifying scrutiny of Zacharia's credentials just days into the job.
The dispute Whether Zacharia's claim reflects a genuine (if confused) statement about foreign legal work or a deliberate fabrication of her credentials. · positions read across 7 posts and comments
Zacharia's answer is evasive and technically meaningless because bar exams are state-administered, not something you take "when you move" somewhere.
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“Asked what state she passed the bar in, Zacharia answered "when I moved to China." Bar exams are run by states, so that answer covers neither the state nor the exam.”
wellborn.net · Mastodon/Bluesky ↗
Zacharia and Trump are lying about her being an attorney and she must disclose the actual state where she passed the bar.
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“One cannot take an American state bar exam in China... Are Katie Zacharia and trump lying when they say she is an attorney? If not, then she needs to disclose in what state she passed the bar.”
@tedlieu · X ↗
“Yet, there is no evidence that Zacharia ever passed a bar exam or has been admitted to practice law in any state.”
Judd Legum, Journalist, Popular Information · Popular Information / New York Magazine ↗ · Oct 12
Katie Zacharia White House Press Secretary
Donald Trump President of the United States
Judd Legum Journalist, Popular Information
Josh Marshall Editor, Talking Points Memo
Ted Lieu U.S. Representative
How it unfolded 5 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts
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South China Morning Post confirms foreign nationals were ineligible in 2011
SCMP reported that eligibility rules for China's national judicial examination in 2011, when Zacharia reportedly began working in Beijing, required Chinese nationality, making her ineligible; the firm Zhong Lun did not immediately respond to requests for clarification.
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first by Talking Points Memo, 7h ago
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Trump press secretary Katie Zacharia says she passed bar exam in China, raising eyebrows https://www. byteseu.com/2450766/ # America # Politics # UnitedStates # UnitedStatesOfAmerica # US # USPolitics # USA # USAPolitics
1 more of the top 2 · 3 posts in this stretch
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Some real Lionel Hutz shit on display here https:// talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/y our-quick-primer-on-katie-zacharias-false-claim-to-have-taken-the-bar-in-china # USPol
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Josh Marshall says the China bar claim is "probably false"
Talking Points Memo's Josh Marshall analyzed Chinese legal-practice rules and concluded foreign nationals appear categorically barred from taking China's bar exam, making Zacharia's claim very likely false; he suggested she may have been deliberately evasive.
“it looks like Zacharia's claim is likely false... Perhaps Zacharia was being cagey.”
— Josh Marshall -
first by Talking Points Memo, 8h ago
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New: White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia calls herself a lawyer. There’s no evidence she was admitted to practice law in the United States, and legal experts say foreign citizens cannot take the bar in China. My deep dive: https://www. washingtonpost.com/business/20 26/10/13/katie-zacharia-calls-herself-lawyer-legal-experts-arent-sure/
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Rep. Ted Lieu challenges the claim and demands disclosure
Lieu posted that American state bar exams are administered only in U.S. states and cannot be taken in China, asking whether Zacharia and Trump were lying about her being an attorney and demanding she disclose the state where she passed the bar.
“One cannot take an American state bar exam in China... Are Katie Zacharia and trump lying when they say she is an attorney?”
— Rep. Ted Lieu -
One cannot take an American state bar exam in China. Bar exams are administered at designated testing locations in each state of the union. Are Katie Zacharia and trump lying when they say she is an attorney? If not, then she needs to disclose in what state she passed the bar.
1 more of the top 2 · 2 posts in this stretch
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Asked what state she passed the bar in, Zacharia answered "when I moved to China." Bar exams are run by states, so that answer covers neither the state nor the exam. RE:
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Popular Information finds no record of Zacharia passing any bar exam
Judd Legum's Popular Information Substack reported it found no evidence Zacharia had passed a bar exam or been admitted to practice law in any of the 50 states or D.C., noting she is not listed in the California, Texas, or D.C. bar rolls.
“there is no evidence that Zacharia ever passed a bar exam or has been admitted to practice law in any state…”
— Judd Legum, Popular Information -
first by Talking Points Memo, 14h ago
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first by New York Magazine, 14h ago
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Zacharia tells reporter she passed the bar "when I moved to China"
Outside the White House before Trump departed for an Alaska rally, a reporter asked Zacharia which state she passed the bar exam in; she replied "When I moved to China," a non-answer that did not name a U.S. state.
“When I moved to China…”
— Katie Zacharia -
Q: You said Zacharia is an attorney. Where did she pass the bar exam? What state? ZACHARIA: When I moved to China
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background
Zacharia holds poorly received first press briefing — Zacharia's debut briefing as press secretary lasted 14 minutes and drew comparisons to Anthony Scaramucci's brief, chaotic tenure as communications director.
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background
Trump names Zacharia press secretary, calls her "an attorney" — Trump announced Zacharia would replace Karoline Leavitt as White House press secretary, describing her as an attorney, a characterization she had also used in media appearances and her social-media bio.