Trump's new press secretary Katie Zacharia never passed bar exam despite claiming attorney status President Trump's new press secretary Katie Zacharia has been revealed to have failed the California bar exam and never obtained a legal license in the US, despite repeatedly identifying herself as a lawyer. The revelation has raised significant questions about her professional credentials and suitability for the high-profile White House role. President Donald Trump's new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia failed the California bar exam and has never passed one in the United States, despite repeatedly describing herself as a lawyer and being introduced by the president as an attorney. The revelation has sparked fresh questions about the legal credentials of Trump's latest high-profile appointment, whose professional history includes working at a prestigious Chinese law firm and serving as general counsel for a political nonprofit. Zacharia, who graduated from Pepperdine University's law school in 2011, sat for the California bar exam shortly afterward but failed, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told The Wall Street Journal.Zacharia failed California bar exam before moving to ChinaShe was preparing for her wedding and an international move to China with her future husband at the time, according to the source. Despite never passing an American bar examination, Zacharia went on to build a career involving international legal transactions and regularly presented herself as a lawyer during television appearances. Her credentials have now come under intense scrutiny after searches of attorney licensing records in California, Texas and Washington, D.C., failed to identify her as a registered attorney under either her married or maiden name. The controversy intensified when progressive journalist Judd Legum raised questions about her professional qualifications in his Popular Information newsletter. And when Zacharia was directly questioned by a reporter on Tuesday about which state had admitted her to the bar, her response did little to clear up the mystery.White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia held her first press briefing as press secretary at the White House on Tuesday Zacharia was directly questioned by a reporter on Tuesday about which state had admitted her to the bar, her response did little to clear up the mystery.Press secretary fails to clarify bar admission status'When I moved to China,' she replied 'When I moved to China,' she replied, without providing any further explanation. On Wednesday evening, she spoke with The New York Times in an attempt to explain her answer. 'I assumed the question was,