A Trump administration official argued that the White House press secretary could technically be considered a “lawyer.” Legal experts have disputed that argument.

White House press secretary Katie Zacharia did not pass the California bar exam when she took it after graduating from law school, according to a senior administration official.

The official argued that Zacharia could technically be considered a “lawyer,” though not an attorney. Donald Trump referred to Zacharia as an “attorney” in his Truth Social post announcing that he was tapping her as press secretary.

But several lawyers told NBC News that “lawyer” is widely understood to refer to someone who has passed the bar exam and is licensed to practice law.

Zacharia’s failure to pass the bar exam was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. The new White House press secretary is facing questions about her legal credentials after the White House has not said whether Zacharia, who has repeatedly referred to herself as a lawyer, passed the bar exam.

  • bedwyr@piefed.ca
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    1 day ago

    Her face bothers me. She sure overdid her fake tits too. The president sure has a type though, same type as rupert murdoch, unless you count all the men with fine buttocks in which case prez is a little different than rupert.

    • TargaryenTKE@lemmy.world
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      18 hours ago

      We all know that Trump only hired her for her looks, but instead let’s all just focus on how under qualified she is please?

    • Fowlplay@lemmy.zip
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      1 day ago

      She was tapped for numerous reason.

      1. Dumb idiots like to stare at “attractive” (atrocious plastic pieces of shit).
      2. people in echo chambers like to be reinsured of their own beliefs.
      3. cause as many distractions as possible for the failing governments promises before the midterms.

      At the core all this current admin has done is prevent the Epstein files and allowed corruption to the highest degree.

      • bedwyr@piefed.ca
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        1 day ago

        Her face bothers me, I think she’s had plastic surgery, although actually rather well done compared to the other maga personalities like loomer and gillfoyle and the like. Her fake tits are way way overdone how does anyone want that idk.

        Both Eric and Ivanka both have had plastic surgery to their faces too by the way. Check the before and after pictures.

    • Kirp123@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Nah. The most important test was being a blonde woman kinda looking like Ivanka looking at her with your eyes half closed.

    • artyom@piefed.social
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      2 days ago

      I don’t think the lying is nearly as important as the sucking up. That’s why she spent for first 5 minutes of her debut doing exactly that.

      • Thorry@feddit.org
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        2 days ago

        Because he told the idiots he would make everything better. But in Trump language that means better for himself and his cronies, not the idiots that voted for him.

        • TrickDacy@lemmy.world
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          I would say it’s because he promised to be cruel to the people that many morons have been convinced to hate. I honestly cannot say I ever get the feeling that conservatives get very focused on actually making anything better. If they ever did, all a politician needs to do is point at the better thing supposedly helping their “enemies” and it would be back to focusing on “making things fair,” ie. Hurting minorities and the left.

  • Vandals_handle@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Pepperidge farm remembers Jill Biden EdD being disparaged for appropriately using the title doctor. Party of hypocrites every one.

  • kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    The law says that misrepresenting yourself as one who practices or may practice law is the violation. It does not specify that you refer to yourself by any specific terms.

    There is no legal distinction between “lawyer” or “attorney” in California law. And speaking from nearly 4 decades of being an American and native English speaker, there is no colloquial difference either. They are used interchangeablly.

    Whatever lax meaning they are trying to project onto the term “lawyer” was made up wholecloth by them to obfuscate her (criminal) lie.

    • Lemming6969@lemmy.world
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      22 hours ago

      I know it’s ridiculous, but you first need to define lawyer and attorney as representing ability to legally practice law. Then you can make falsely claiming this to be illegal. Without defining terms meant to define “represent practicing law,” there’s nothing to make illegal.

      • ohulancutash@feddit.uk
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        18 hours ago

        Not true. If you give a reasonable person the impression that you are a qualified practitioner, then you are making that claim.

      • kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world
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        21 hours ago

        That is not true. More than a few laws have been created, enforced and had judgements executed on them that were vague as fuck. Part of a judge’s job is interpreting the law. Defining your terms adds clarity, but that is not a requirement. And were it a requirement, then you just move the goal post to defining your definition.

        You can add the definition:

        Referring to yourself by the terms “lawyer” or “attorney” qualify as representing yourself as one who practices or may practice law.

        Well what do you mean by “referring”? In writing? Verbally? In specific contexts? While soliciting business? Do you have to specifically say “I am a lawyer” or does implying you are one counts?

        What do you mean by “yourself”? Your qualifications? Your clothing/appearance? Your mindset? Your future goals? Your idealized self?

        You get the point. If you had to list every single way that a law could be broken, and define every single term within it (and within that, and within that, and within that, ad nauseum), then absolutley no law would be enforceable. Some amount 9f colloquial understanding of terms is required, as is intent.

        That’s why people argue about the actual meaning of the 2nd Amendment, for example. They argue about the framers’ intent, context, verbiage, historical precedent, practicality, etc. and lawyers and judges OFTEN come up with conflicting interpretation. That doesn’t mean that the law gets thrown out. It means that judicial interpretation, precedent, practicality, and stare decisis (i.e. deference to the decisions of a higher court) all have a part to play in law.

        • Lemming6969@lemmy.world
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          19 hours ago

          It’s not that they cannot be held by a court to be illegal, it’s that it’s not explicit and can be argued away by a good team. This means the expense to try such a case grows and puts pressure on them not to. Trying it and failing also weakens the current law when applied to normies, which they cannot have either. In this case I’m sure the combination of politics and these loopholes mean it wouldn’t be tried.

          • kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world
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            19 hours ago

            Reasonable doubt would be the standard then. But also it’s ultimately an academic question because no prosecutor that isn’t being a pedantic and/or vindictive asshole will try someone for this statute violation based on someone erroneously representing their credentials but not acting upon that misrepresention. This law is meant to protect people from fraudsters claiming to be lawyers. Not for the law equivalent of stolen valor. It’s still illegal (and sad/scummy) but no one is going to waste their time trying this case.

  • Eldritch@piefed.world
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    2 days ago

    She’s a blond so trumps tiny little bar gets hard. And that’s the only bar exam she had to pass.

  • Snapz@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Drivers exam, dental exam, she even failed the little crayon maze on the kids menu at Denny’s.

    • SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca
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      Those menus are designed by liberals. The crayons are in rainbow colors, forcing our kids to be trans.

      • Snapz@lemmy.world
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        23 hours ago

        Every librul gets paid $300k/yr to design those menus in their cushy New York city office. And the only thing their boss says is drink more lattes! and hide the word “antifa” in the crossword puzzle!

  • SeductiveTortoise@piefed.social
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    2 days ago

    Hey, I don’t think anyone in the Trump administration passes a bar without downing a few shots.

    Edit: been thinking. I guess “passes a bar without examining it” would have worked even better.

  • Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works
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    2 days ago

    What!? What about China? Didn’t she pass it in China? Pretty sure she passed it in China!

    Isn’t it illegal to impersonate a lawyer?

    • StabbingSky@lemmy.zip
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      I think the legality depends on what actions you take. If you just tell people that and don’t provide legal services or advice, it’s probably not illegal.

      • bedwyr@piefed.ca
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        1 day ago

        At least in CA, simply saying I am a a lawyer when one is not, is a crime, as reported in the guardian and or reuters recently.

      • Madison420@lemmy.world
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        It’s definitely illegal. The issue is portraying yourself as an attorney for a benefit which in this case is a job. There’s no way that claim has no factoring in her hiring and if it didn’t it would imply bribery or nepotism.

          • Madison420@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            Most press secretaries have a field speciality that is helpful with that administration’s plans and motivations. Levitt was a political journalist that went to school for it, huck sans was poly sci/mass comm.

            And we don’t know, finding out what would normally spark an investigation.

  • SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    2 days ago

    The more I see pictures of these people, the more I get the feeling that everything they do is cosplay some weird projection onto themselves.

      • bedwyr@piefed.ca
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        1 day ago

        I guess that makes us more of a cuntocracy or something, crookocracy, idk. Ameritocracy perhaps. Amerit as in amoral not america.

  • pelespirit@sh.itjust.works
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    2 days ago

    She called herself a lawyer, she is not. Repercussions please.

    Edit: Ahhh ha ha ha, then she throws the president of her university under the bus

    The new White House press secretary told the New York Times on Wednesday that when she first began appearing on cable news, she had asked Pepperdine how she should identify herself.

    She said she was advised by the university president that she could call herself a lawyer, but not an attorney.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckqxne2evqreo