WASHINGTON: The White House faced mounting questions on Wednesday over new press secretary Katie Zacharia`s legal credentials, after a faltering first day in the job when she gave an inconclusive answer about where she had passed the bar exam.

A US watchdog filed a complaint with the State Bar of California, asking it to investigate whether President Donald Trump`s spokeswoman -the public face of the administration -had broken the law by repeatedly presenting herself as a lawyer without a licence.

Campaign for Accountability said Zacharia had described herself as a lawyer during television appearances and listed herself as general counsel for a California-based conservative firm.

`Ms Zacharia has represented herself as a lawyer repeatedly to buttress her reputation and credibility, said the group`s executive director, Michelle Kuppersmith. `The State Bar should investigate whether Ms Zacharia has misled the public about her credentials,` she added.

Trump described Zacharia as `an attorney` when announcing her appointment last week, but journalists have found no record ofher beinglicensed to practise law in any US state. California`s state bar confirmed to media that it had no record of Zacharia holding a licence under either her married or maiden name.

Zacharia, 41, graduated from Pepperdine University`s law school in 2011, but obtaining a law degree does not automatically qualify someone to practise law.

Asked by reporters on Tuesday where she had passed the bar exam, Zacharia replied: `When I moved to China,` without identifying any jurisdiction where she was licensed.-AFP