Despite holding a law degree from Pepperdine University, 41-year-old Katie Zacharia has no publicly established record of passing the US bar exam. (EPA Images pic)WASHINGTON: New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia, under scrutiny over her legal credentials, seemed to acknowledge Thursday that she had failed the bar exam but argued she was accurate in presenting herself as a lawyer.

Appointed by US President Donald Trump, Zacharia has described herself as a lawyer during television appearances and on social media and listed herself as general counsel of a California-based conservative nonprofit.

But there is no evidence to suggest that the 41-year-old press secretary has ever passed the bar exam, required to obtain a licence to practise law in the US, after graduating from Pepperdine University with a law degree.