Katie Zacharia Admits Failing Bar, but Defends Calling Herself a Lawyer
New York Times · LC · trust 58/100
In an interview with a right-wing influencer, the new White House press secretary also described the harried process that led to her hiring.
Listen · 5:48 min Share full article Katie Zacharia, the White House press secretary, aboard Air Force One on Wednesday. “I woke up at 3 in the morning on Tuesday to prepare with what I had,” she said of her first press briefing. Credit... Doug Mills/The New York Times By Shawn McCreesh
Four days into her new role, Ms. Zacharia appeared on Real America’s Voice before a friendly interviewer, addressing some of the controversies already swirling around her. She explained why her debut briefing was so short and why she seemed unprepared . She also revealed who she hoped might play her on “Saturday Night Live.”
The interview was conducted by one of the Trump administration’s favorite right-wing influencers, Jack Posobiec, who rose to prominence online by stoking conspiracies about pedophilia and Democratic elites — theories that Ms. Zacharia once helped spread .
In the interview, Ms. Zacharia said she had sat for a bar exam but failed. Despite that, Mr. Trump has described her as “an attorney.” The president has over the years repeatedly ridiculed Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris for failing a bar exam (both women eventually passed).
Ms. Zacharia has identified herself in the news media as a “lawyer,” and much of her defense of how she has represented herself seemed to rest on what she maintained was the difference between a “lawyer” and an “attorney.”
Many legal experts have said this week that because she does not have a license to practice law, she is neither.
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