White House press secretary Katie Zacharia refused to take questions from reporters during an appearance on the North Lawn, despite the role’s responsibility for answering questions from the media.
The incident came during her first week in the post, as she faced scrutiny over claims that she described herself as a “lawyer” despite never having passed the bar exam.
Video showed Ms Zacharia approaching a group of reporters before immediately telling them: “I’m not taking any questions.”
She said she wanted to work with the press corps and asked journalists to contact her by phone, text message or email instead. However, she did not respond to questions on camera.
Ms Zacharia has a law degree from Pepperdine, but does not need to be a lawyer to serve as White House press secretary. The role does, however, involve answering questions from the media.
Her refusal to engage with reporters came as the White House press corps sought to question her about the claims concerning her legal qualifications.
