Zacharia says results of bar exam were ‘inconsequential’

White House press secretary Katie Zacharia said Thursday her California Bar exam results are “somewhat inconsequential” after reporting surfaced that showed she did not pass the examination.

In an interview with the conservative outlet Real America’s Voice, Zacharia said she was planning to move to China to be with her husband who was working abroad.

“I had already pre-registered to take the bar, and I didn’t want to withdraw from that,” Zacharia said. “I was already incredibly distracted and overwhelmed and excited for finally being married to someone who I’d been long distance from for at least a year, a year and a half when you include the engagement.”

“We just said let’s take this time, and I’ll take the bar and see what happens,” she continued. “The results are somewhat inconsequential because I knew I wouldn’t need the bar in China.”

Zacharia’s legal credentials have come under intense scrutiny after the left-leaning newsletter Popular Information reported that Zacharia is not licensed to practice law in the U.S. or Washington, D.C.

The Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday that Zacharia sat for the California Bar exam after she received her law degree from Pepperdine University, but she did not pass.

Zacharia said that after moving to China, she “didn’t think much of the bar results or consider that was something I needed to focus on,” noting she worked as an associate at the international division at the Chinese law firm Zhong Lun Law Firm.

“I had enough credentials, which was my law degree, to be able to be in this practice,” she said.

When asked if she plans to weigh in on legal matters as press secretary, Zacharia said she was “not hired as White House counsel.”

“For the press secretary, my job is to amplify and communicate his message, and to interact with the press, and build relationships, and strengthen relationships, and communicate clearly the message of the administration,” she said.