White House press secretary Katie Zacharia confirms she never passed bar exam after saying she's a lawyer

Key Points:

• White House press secretary Katie Zacharia admitted she never passed any U.S. state bar exam, including California's, despite calling herself a lawyer and being referred to as an attorney by President Trump.
• Zacharia explained she failed the California bar in 2011, attributing it to distractions from personal life changes, and said she never described herself as an "attorney at law," though she did use the term "lawyer."
• The Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint with the California State Bar alleging Zacharia violated state law by representing herself as a lawyer without a license, which is considered a misdemeanor under California law.
• White House officials defended Zacharia’s qualifications and criticized the watchdog group as politically motivated, while legal experts emphasized that California law clearly prohibits unauthorized individuals from holding themselves out as lawyers.
• Zacharia’s background includes a Pepperdine law degree and work in international transaction law in China, but only Chinese nationals can take the bar exam there, raising questions about the credentials she claims to have.