Trump's new secretary caught in embarrassing flub over claim to be 'lawyer'

President Trump's new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, has repeatedly presented herself as a lawyer. A new investigation found no record of her ever being licensed to practice law in the US, which could be a criminal issue in California.

Judd Legum's Popular Information Substack published an investigative report, searching attorney licensing records in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and found no evidence that Zacharia had been admitted to any bar.

The point is that Zacharia hasn't just spoken about having a legal education. She has on numerous occasions described herself as a lawyer and has listed a California-based organization as an employer where she was General Counsel.

Zacharia described her profession on The Greg Kelly Show on 5th October, stating: “I'm a lawyer.” In an August podcast interview, she repeated the claim, "I'm a lawyer, I went to Pepperdine, Pepperdine Law."

The university confirmed she earned her J.D. in 2011. However, earning a law degree is not the same as admission to practice law.

When announcing her appointment, Trump also referred to her as 'an attorney.'

Popular Information found no listing for Zacharia in California's attorney registry or in those of Texas and Washington, D.C., where she had previously worked. Their wider search across the country yielded no results.

Alternet independently searched the official California Bar records and found no results under her maiden name or current name.

That absence in itself doesn't prove wrongdoing; however, the title Zacharia used at Fix California, a conservative non-profit founded by Trump ally Ric Grenell, makes the issue much harder to brush aside.

Her LinkedIn profile states that she was the group's General Counsel from Jan. 2024 to March 2025. A General Counsel would normally be responsible for the legal affairs of the group, though the exact nature of Zacharia's work in that role has not been established.

Under Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 6126, a person who is not licensed or otherwise authorized to practice law commits a misdemeanor if they advertise themselves as being entitled to practice law or otherwise engage in the practice of law.

A conviction under that provision can result in up to one year in county jail, a $1,000 fine, or both. It is not known whether Zacharia's conduct rose to that level, and the report provides no evidence of a criminal violation.

The publication also notes that her descriptions of the Fix California role have changed over time. Her LinkedIn profile shows the General Counsel role ended in March 2025, but she was still using that title in her social media bios into 2026.

This leaves the fundamental question unaddressed: was Zacharia ever actually authorized to practice law?