Cheung calls watchdog 'deranged low lifes' over Zacharia bar complaint

Complaint asks Ventura County DA to consider possible prosecution

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung lashed out on Wednesday at the nonprofit Campaign for Accountability, calling it “a radical leftist-organization run by rabid numbskulls suffering from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.” The insult, posted to X, came after the watchdog filed a complaint asking the State Bar of California to investigate whether Press Secretary Katie Zacharia is licensed to practice law in the state.

“Nobody takes them seriously because they are deranged low lifes,” Cheung wrote in a follow-up post on X.

Campaign for Accountability, which UPI describes as a nonpartisan government watchdog, filed the complaint on Wednesday through Executive Director Michelle Kuppersmith. The filing asks the State Bar to determine whether Zacharia’s prior work for the right-wing nonprofit Fix California — which her LinkedIn profile lists as general counsel — constituted the unauthorized practice of law. It also requests that the State Bar refer any violations to the Ventura County District Attorney for possible prosecution.

The complaint followed questions about Zacharia’s legal credentials raised at her first White House briefing a day earlier. On Tuesday, when a reporter asked Zacharia where she passed the bar, she told reporters outside the White House, “When I moved to China.” The exchange circulated online amid existing reports questioning whether the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law graduate and California resident may have passed the bar in California or in any other state.

“Ms. Zacharia has represented herself as a lawyer repeatedly to buttress her reputation and credibility as a television commentator and now as the White House spokesperson, yet it seems it was all a lie,” Kuppersmith said in a statement.

Holding oneself out as entitled to practice law without a license is a misdemeanor in California, punishable by up to a year in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. “In California, calling yourself a lawyer without a license isn’t puffery; it’s a crime,” Kuppersmith said. “The State Bar should investigate whether Ms. Zacharia has misled the public about her credentials and hold her accountable if she has.”

“The rules against unlicensed lawyering exist to protect the public,” Kuppersmith added. “To be meaningful, the rules must apply to people with the biggest megaphones, not just to those with no platform.”

UPI has contacted the California State Bar for comment.