Katie Zacharia’s rocky start as White House press secretary has turned into a debate over two words: lawyer and attorney. In fact, hosts on Fox News, CNN, NewsNation and other outlets have reached very different conclusions. She addressed the controversy on Thursday night during an appearance on Sean Hannity’s show on Fox News.
What We Know: Zacharia graduated from Pepperdine law school in 2011. She didn’t pass the California bar exam though. She told Sean Hannity that she took it once and never tried again. Despite that, Zacharia described herself as a lawyer and an attorney. Her LinkedIn profile says she worked as general counsel for the group Fix California. In addition, reviews of her social media posts found at least 15 posts identifying her as an attorney. President Trump also called her an attorney when he announced her hiring.
Zacharia defended herself during her Hannity interview. She agreed that advisers told her she could use “lawyer” but not “attorney.” She also said the posts in question were retweets. Meanwhile, a watchdog group has filed a complaint asking the State Bar of California to investigate.
On CNN, Zack Wolf noted that California prohibits presenting yourself as an attorney or lawyer without a license. One White House official told the network that there was “literally zero reason to put her out on her second day unprepared.”
Katie Pavlich on NewsNation pointed out that Zacharia misled the president and put him in position to repeat her prior claims. Elsewhere, former prosecutor Randy Zelin called the issue a crime under California law while others compared it to Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed calling himself a doctor without a medical license. Megyn Kelly took a different approach entirely urging patience and criticizing media critics for piling on.
What They Said: “Why not say I took the bar and didn’t pass it? Why get in this drawn out definition of an attorney and a lawyer?” – Sean Hannity to Katie Zacharia on Fox News
“Given the fact that I had been on the job less than maybe eight hours and had a briefing book in the morning, I feel like I did my very best to deliver for the American people that day.” – Katie Zacharia, White House Press Secretary
What Remains Unclear: Whether the State Bar of California acts on the complaint remains to be seen. Wolf noted the state’s privacy laws may keep any investigation’s results private. Likewise, the White House hasn’t directly answered whether Zacharia passed a bar exam. It also hasn’t addressed why she was rushed out to meet the press on Tuesday morning.
What It Means: For Zacharia, the controversy is a self-inflicted wound. A press secretary doesn’t need a law degree, as several hosts pointed out. Nevertheless, the story adds additional noise and distractions during the president’s midterm push. For cable news, the coverage shows how quickly a credentials question can spark appointment television. Critics see dishonesty. Defenders see piling on. Meanwhile, the audience tunes in and can’t look away. Zacharia’s next briefing may matter far more than her résumé. Networks are likely already anticipating the next ratings bump.
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