Watchdog Asks California State Bar to Investigate White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia for Claiming to Be a Lawyer Without a License
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 14, 2026
Contact: Michael Clauw, mclauw@campaignforaccountability.org, 202.780.5750
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Campaign for Accountability (CfA), a nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog group, filed a complaint with the State Bar of California asking it to investigate whether newly appointed White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia violated California law by repeatedly holding herself out as a lawyer, even though published reporting indicates she has never been admitted to practice law in California or any other U.S. jurisdiction.
Ms. Zacharia, who received a law degree from Pepperdine University in 2011 and owns a home in Ventura County, California, has repeatedly described herself as a lawyer on national television and in podcasts. “I’m a lawyer,” she told The Greg Kelly Show on October 5, 2026. She has been identified on screen as a lawyer in at least 18 Fox News appearances since March 2025, has claimed to have served as “outside counsel” to the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation, and listed herself as full-time General Counsel of Fix California, a California-based nonprofit, from January 2024 to March 2025.
CfA Executive Director Michelle Kuppersmith said, “Ms. Zacharia has represented herself as a lawyer repeatedly to buttress her reputation and credibility as a television legal commentator and now as the White House spokesperson, yet it seems it was all a lie. In California, calling yourself a lawyer without a license isn’t puffery; it’s a crime. The State Bar should investigate whether Ms. Zacharia has misled the public about her credentials and hold her accountable if she has.”
On October 13, 2026, Popular Information reported that it had searched attorney licensing records in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and found no record that Ms. Zacharia has ever been admitted to practice law. When the White House was asked whether she had been admitted to a bar, it pointed only to President Trump’s social media post calling her “an attorney.” Later that day, when reporters asked Ms. Zacharia where she had passed the bar, she responded, “when I moved to China,” although China does not permit foreign nationals to sit for its bar exam, and foreign admission would not authorize her to practice law in California.
Section 6126(a) of the California Business and Professions Code makes it a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine, for anyone who is not an active licensee of the State Bar to hold themselves out as practicing or entitled to practice law.
CfA’s complaint argues that Ms. Zacharia’s repeated public claims appear to violate that prohibition. The complaint also asks the State Bar to determine whether Ms. Zacharia’s work as General Counsel of Fix California amounted to the unauthorized practice of law under section 6125, and to refer any violations to the Ventura County District Attorney or other appropriate prosecutors.
Ms. Kuppersmith continued, “The rules against unlicensed lawyering exist to protect the public. To be meaningful, the rules must apply to people with the biggest megaphones, not just to those with no platform.”
Campaign for Accountability is a nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog organization that uses research, litigation, and aggressive communications to expose misconduct and malfeasance in public life and hold those who act at the expense of the public good accountable for their actions.