白宫新闻秘书扎卡里亚律师资格受质疑：据报2011年加州律师考试未通过监督组织已向州律师协会投诉

2026-10-15 · 白宫 · GSM News事件

华盛顿——白宫新闻秘书凯蒂·扎卡里亚（Katie Zacharia）的律师资格近日受到质疑。据《华尔街日报》10月14日晚间报道，据一名直接知情人士透露，扎卡里亚2011年从佩珀代因大学（Pepperdine University）法学院毕业后参加了加州律师资格考试，但没有通过；据《今日美国》10月15日报道，她此后没有再参加考试。两家媒体均报道，在加州、德州和华盛顿特区的持牌律师名录中，都查不到以她婚前或婚后姓名登记的执业记录。

质疑的起点是她对律师身份的公开表述。特朗普总统10月9日在社交媒体上宣布任命她为新闻秘书时称她为「attorney（执业律师）」；她本人也曾在电视节目和社交媒体个人简介中自称律师。监督组织「问责运动」（Campaign for Accountability）10月13日称，其检索了全美50州和华盛顿特区的律师登记记录，均未发现她的执业登记。10月13日，扎卡里亚与特朗普总统离开白宫时，有记者问她在哪个州通过了律师考试，她当时回答说「在我搬去中国的时候」。据《今日美国》援引《纽约时报》报道，扎卡里亚事后解释说，总统专机「海军陆战队一号」直升机的噪音太大，她没听清问题，以为记者问的是「法学院毕业后你去了哪里」。

10月14日，问责运动正式向加州律师协会投诉，要求调查扎卡里亚是否违反加州法律、反复以律师身份示人，并要求查明她2024年至2025年担任加州非营利组织「修复加州」（Fix California）总法律顾问一职是否涉及无证执业。该组织执行主任米歇尔·库珀史密斯（Michelle Kuppersmith）在声明中称，扎卡里亚反复以律师身份提升自己的声誉和电视评论可信度，并称在加州无证自称律师「不是夸口，而是犯罪」。加州律师协会目前尚未公布对投诉的处理结果。

扎卡里亚本人通过白宫发表声明回应称：「我从事过国际交易法工作，具备一切适当的资质。」据《华尔街日报》和《今日美国》报道，2011年考试前后她正筹备婚礼并准备随丈夫移居中国，之后在北京的中伦律师事务所国际业务团队任职，从事跨境交易工作；据知情人士称，有律师曾告诉她，凭借法学学位和国际交易经验，她可以提供法律分析。据《今日美国》报道，她还曾向佩珀代因大学方面咨询过如何表述身份，得到的意见是不要自称「attorney」或使用「esquire」头衔，但可以自称「lawyer」。

白宫方面力挺扎卡里亚。白宫通讯主任史蒂文·张（Steven Cheung）在社交媒体上发文抨击投诉组织，称无人会认真对待这份投诉。张另在一份声明中称扎卡里亚是团队「非常出色的新成员」，并称她非常胜任新闻秘书工作。一名白宫官员表示，总统聘用扎卡里亚并非让她处理法律事务。新闻秘书一职本身并不要求持有律师执照。

扎卡里亚现年41岁，本周刚刚走马上任，10月13日在白宫布雷迪简报室主持了首场新闻简报会。本站此前已报道她的任命与首场简报，本篇为其律师资格受质疑这一新进展的首篇报道。

（来源：《华尔街日报》、《今日美国》报道；问责运动）

White House Press Secretary Zacharia's Lawyer Credentials Questioned: Reports Say She Failed the 2011 California Bar Exam; Watchdog Files State Bar Complaint

WASHINGTON — The lawyer credentials of White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia have come under scrutiny. According to The Wall Street Journal, reporting on the evening of October 14 and citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter, Zacharia sat for the California bar exam after graduating from Pepperdine University's law school in 2011 but did not pass. USA TODAY reported on October 15 that she did not take the exam a second time. Both outlets reported that searches of licensed-attorney records in California, Texas and Washington, D.C., under her married and maiden names, turned up no record of a law license.

The questions center on how Zacharia has described herself. When President Donald Trump announced her appointment as press secretary in an October 9 social media post, he called her an attorney, and she has described herself as a lawyer in television appearances and in a previous version of her social media bio. The watchdog group Campaign for Accountability said on October 13 that it had searched attorney licensing records in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and found no record that she has ever been admitted to practice law. On October 13, as Zacharia departed the White House with President Trump, a reporter asked where she had passed the bar exam, and she replied, "When I moved to China." According to USA TODAY, citing The New York Times, Zacharia later explained that she had trouble hearing the question over the sound of Marine One, the presidential helicopter, and assumed she had been asked where she was after law school.

On October 14, Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint with the State Bar of California asking it to investigate whether Zacharia violated California law by repeatedly holding herself out as a lawyer, and to determine whether her work as general counsel of the California nonprofit Fix California from 2024 to 2025 amounted to the unauthorized practice of law. The group's executive director, Michelle Kuppersmith, said in a statement that Zacharia had represented herself as a lawyer repeatedly to bolster her reputation and credibility, and that in California, calling oneself a lawyer without a license is a crime. The State Bar has not announced any action on the complaint.

In a statement provided through the White House, Zacharia said: "I practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials." According to the Journal and USA TODAY, she took the 2011 exam while planning a wedding and preparing to move to China with her future husband, and then worked in Beijing as an associate on the international-practice team of Zhong Lun Law Firm on cross-border transactions. A person familiar with her background said lawyers later advised her that she could provide legal analysis based on her law degree and international experience. USA TODAY also reported that she had consulted Pepperdine's president about how to identify herself and was told not to call herself an attorney or use "esquire," but that she could call herself a lawyer.

The White House has rallied behind her. Communications Director Steven Cheung attacked the watchdog group in a social media post, saying nobody takes the complaint seriously. In a separate statement, Cheung called Zacharia a fabulous addition to the team and said she is uniquely qualified to serve as press secretary. A White House official said the president did not hire Zacharia to work on legal matters. The press secretary job does not require a law license.

Zacharia, 41, started the job this week and held her first briefing in the White House Brady Press Briefing Room on October 13. GSM previously reported her appointment and first briefing; this report covers the new questions about her legal credentials.

(Sources: The Wall Street Journal, October 14, 2026; USA TODAY, October 15, 2026; Campaign for Accountability statement, October 14, 2026)

来源：《华尔街日报》、《今日美国》

发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）

图片来源：白宫新闻秘书凯蒂·扎卡里亚2026年10月13日在白宫布雷迪新闻简报室主持首场简报（P20261013AH-0626）。白宫官方照片，Andrea Hanks 摄，公共领域，维基共享资源

GSM Global · 本篇英文版 English edition of this story