White House defends Kejti Zakarija as questions mount about her bar exam credentials
The administration says Zakarija is "uniquely qualified" after she told reporters she took the bar "when I moved to China."
The White House has defended its newly appointed spokesperson, Kejti Zakarija, after questions emerged about whether she is licensed to practice law in the United States.
President Donald Trump described Zakarija as a lawyer when he announced her appointment last week, and she has referred to herself in the same way. At her first briefing, a reporter asked in which U.S. state she had passed the bar exam required to be a lawyer; she replied, "When I moved to China."
Questions and a complaint
It appears Zakarija is not registered with the bar in any state where she has lived. White House communications director Steven Cheung said she is "uniquely qualified and is very smart to help inform the American people."
Responding to inquiries about her credentials, Zakarija said: "I practiced international transactional law, with all the appropriate qualifications."
The advocacy group Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint yesterday with the California Bar asking it to investigate whether Zakarija presented herself publicly as authorized to practice law without a license — conduct that California law treats as a criminal offense.
Zakarija, 42, graduated from Pepperdine University School of Law in California in 2011. A law degree is not itself a licence to practise law in the United States. She sat the California bar exam after graduating but failed, according to the Wall Street Journal. She later moved to Beijing for her husband’s job and says she worked there in international transactional law. In China, only Chinese citizens can obtain a licence to practise as an attorney; foreigners may work in law firms in other roles.
Photo: AP)
