Katie Zacharia’s brief tenure as White House press secretary inspired jokes, but the dispute over whether she could properly call herself a lawyer distracted from a far more consequential problem. Her record of promoting bizarre and vicious conspiracy theories offered a stronger reason to keep her away from a government microphone.

Zacharia’s social media history reflected baseless thinking, defamatory accusations and sinister fantasies. That record was especially alarming for someone selected to explain the president’s policies and actions to the public with authority and integrity.

She deleted many posts and reposts before her new position was announced. Among them were repeated references to Democratic operative and former White House chief of staff John Podesta as a “pedo,” apparently linking him to a child abuse conspiracy theory debunked years earlier.

Zacharia also praised the late Robert David Steele, a conspiracist who claimed kidnapped children were being transported to a colony on Mars. “He was exposing the pedo rings of the elite cabal,” Zacharia wrote. “May he Rest in Peace and the work of his hands not have been in vain.”

The ugly claims did not stop there. In another Truth Social post, she wrote that “the radical left Hollywood elites are sick pedo cannibals.” She then added, “Change my mind.”

Another repost raised a conspiracy theory about comedian Joan Rivers’ death in 2014 following an insulting remark about the Obamas. “Remember that time Joan Rivers said Obama was gay and Michelle had a dick then suddenly died?”

These were not the posts of a mischievous teenager discovering the internet’s worst corners. Some dated from as recently as 2022, when Zacharia was in her late 30s and had already held several senior communications jobs, most recently as an adviser to the Trump owned social media platform Truth Social.

Her deleted political posts created another problem. She reposted and deleted a tweet accusing the Justice Department of covering up crimes involving the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, placing her at odds with the administration she was chosen to represent.

Last year, Zacharia advocated suspending habeas corpus for migrants arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Her stated legal reasoning was that the Constitution permits denial of the fundamental right to challenge detention in court during rebellion or invasion.

CNN reported Tuesday that neither Zacharia nor White House communications director Steven Cheung directly addressed the social media activity. Cheung instead called her “uniquely qualified” and “whip smart to help inform the American people.”

The White House responded to Popular Information by referring it to Trump’s Truth Social post about Zacharia. Trump described her as “a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning.”

Zacharia was interviewed by three conservative outlets, including Fox News, between Thursday and her ouster Friday, but was not asked about the posts. That comfortable bubble was never going to survive contact with the White House briefing room, where her own statements would inevitably become part of the story.

The legal controversy collapsed quickly. In a Thursday interview with right wing influencer and conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec, Zacharia acknowledged that she had not passed the California bar exam but said legal experts advised her that she could call herself a lawyer, though not an “attorney.”

She offered a similar account to The New York Times, which reported that LinkedIn had identified her as general counsel to a group led by a Trump loyalist. CNN then reported Thursday that she had shared at least 15 posts over two years referring to herself as an attorney.

Zacharia told Sean Hannity those posts were retweets using a title she had been given, but she was out shortly after lunchtime Friday. Her departure settled the immediate staffing problem while leaving the more disturbing questions about her judgment unanswered.

If Trump places Zacharia elsewhere in his administration, those questions remain relevant. A less visible position would not erase her claims about Hollywood cannibals, kidnapped children on Mars, Joan Rivers, Epstein or the proposed suspension of habeas corpus.

A press secretary should not become the story while attempting to discuss war, the economy, health care and the midterm elections. Zacharia’s own history guaranteed that she would, and a taxpayer funded salary in another role would not make that history any less troubling.

For Trump, media controversy may fit comfortably with his political brand. Zacharia’s record of misinformation, outrageous theories and mortifying falsehoods may not have been an obstacle to her appointment at all, which makes any future administration role worthy of immediate scrutiny.