New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia said her marriage distracted her from passing the California bar exam, while a surprise pregnancy later kept her from taking the test again.
On Thursday, Zacharia spoke with Real America’s Voice host Jack Posobiec in her first on-camera interview since her widely criticized debut at the White House briefing podium on Tuesday.
The interview addressed more than her halting delivery and abrupt departure from the briefing room. Posobiec also questioned President Donald Trump’s new top spokesperson about why she has been described as a “lawyer” despite failing the bar exam, a detail the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday night.
“I had already pre-registered to take the bar. And I didn’t want to withdraw from that. And we knew we would be moving out to China,” Zacharia said. “And I was obviously incredibly distracted and overwhelmed and excited for finally being married to someone who I’d been long distance from for at least a year.”
She said the outcome did not seem important at the time because she expected to practice in China, where the result would not be required.
“There’s no Chinese bar,” Zacharia said. “I had enough credentials, which was my law degree to be able to do this practice.”
Posobiec then asked why she did not attempt the California bar after returning to the United States.
“Well, when we moved back Jack, we got a surprise baby,” she replied. “We had four kids in six years.”
New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia said during her interview with Jack Posobiec that marriage and raising children prevented her from eventually passing the bar exam.
Jack Posobiec (right) questioned Katie Zacharia (left) about describing herself as a “lawyer” despite not passing the bar exam.
Zacharia acknowledged that the confusion over her professional credentials stems in part from her use of the word “lawyer.”
“And I consulted for a very long time many people in the field: ‘Is it OK and acceptable if I label myself lawyer? Not attorney-at-law, not Katie Zacharia, esquire, but lawyer, and provide legal analysis, not advice?’” she said. “They said ‘absolutely’ across the board.”
Some legal scholars have challenged that reasoning. Stephen Gillers, a professor at New York University School of Law, told the Washington Post, “A J.D. degree does not make you a lawyer.”
Zacharia also pointed to her international legal background as support for the way she presents her qualifications.
“The truth is, I was very careful how I executed this and I never came across as someone who was an attorney-at-law,” she said.
The replacement for Karoline Leavitt also described the rapid chain of events that brought her to the briefing room. Zacharia said the president called her last Wednesday, she flew to Washington on Thursday, and she interviewed for and accepted the press secretary position on Friday.
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“On Monday I showed up,” she said. “Wants a briefing Tuesday morning,” she said of Trump.
She said the compressed schedule left little time for the preparation normally associated with a White House briefing.
“And typically Jack, briefs are in the afternoon, 1 p.m., 1:30 p.m., where the press secretary has ample amount of time to have discussed with all the necessary people, get all the right information, be briefed, and walk out,” Zacharia explained.
New press secretary Katie Zacharia spent about 14 minutes at the White House podium Tuesday and faced criticism over her uneven performance.
Press secretary Katie Zacharia (left) stood behind President Donald Trump (right) on Tuesday morning before he left for Alaska for a campaign rally.
In Zacharia’s case, she received the briefing materials Monday night, but they weren’t fully baked until 8 a.m. Tuesday.
‘I never had a full briefing beforehand. And I went out and I effectuated the …’ she said, trailing off.
Posobiec asked Zacharia if the briefing had been kept intentionally short.
Her whole appearance lasted just 14 minutes – with the press secretary calling on just three reporters, including Our News Outlet.
‘Yeah, so knowing that White House protocol is pretty specific, it was absolutely my goal to keep it short,’ she answered. ‘Considering that he is his own best spokesperson.’
The President was expected to leave for Alaska shortly after she wrapped up.
Zacharia also conceded that she believed an impression on Saturday Night Live was coming.
Trump’s first press secretary, Sean Spicer, got lampooned by a water gun waving gender-bending Melissa McCarthy.
‘I know it’s coming, yes. I think – who would I like to have play me? Maybe a Scarlett Johansson-type character,’ she floated.
Johansson, who is married to SNL’s Colin Jost, has repeatedly been featured on the show, including a viral appearance as Republican Senator Katie Britt.
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