Zacharia has described herself as a lawyer during television appearances and on social media, and identified herself as general counsel of a California-based conservative non-profit organisation.
However, questions have emerged over the legal credentials of the press secretary, whom US President Donald Trump appointed last week, after she gave an inconclusive response when asked where she had passed the bar examination.
The 41-year-old graduated from Pepperdine University’s law school in 2011. However, obtaining a law degree does not automatically qualify a person to practise law.
During an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday, Zacharia was asked whether she had taken and failed the bar examination.
“Yes,” she replied.
In a separate interview with conservative media outlet Real America’s Voice on the same day, Zacharia said she had registered to take the examination but was “distracted and overwhelmed” by preparations to move to China with her husband.
“The results are somewhat inconsequential because I knew I wouldn’t need the bar in China,” she said.
Foreign nationals are not permitted to sit China’s bar examination, although they may undertake certain legal work at Chinese law firms.
Hannity later asked Zacharia whether she had attempted the examination a second time. She replied that she had not.
“I had four kids in six years,” she said, adding that practising law had never been her intention.
Zacharia told Real America’s Voice that several people in the legal field had assured her she could describe herself as a lawyer because of her law degree and business law experience in China, where she had worked at a Beijing law firm.
She maintained that she could provide legal analysis but not legal advice, adding that she had been careful about how she presented her credentials.
The Campaign for Accountability, a political ethics organisation, called on Wednesday for the California Bar Association to investigate the matter.
“In California, calling yourself a lawyer without a license isn’t puffery; it’s a crime,” the organisation said in a press release.
Zacharia conducted her first White House press briefing on Tuesday. The session was unusually brief, with questions taken from only three journalists.
She replaced Karoline Leavitt, a staunch Trump supporter known for her combative exchanges with reporters. Leavitt stepped down in August to focus on caring for her young children.
