Julia Letlow

Published 6:46 am Saturday, October 17, 2026

Newspaper stories inform readers of government and other activities but sometimes they raise questions that aren’t answered. For example, why was U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, R-Baton Rouge, with Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry at the LNG summit held in Lake Charles?

Southwest Louisiana, the nation’s LNG capital, is represented by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, and U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette. Letlow represents northeastern and southeastern parts of the state. Why weren’t Johnson and Higgins here?

Letlow is running for the U.S. Senate to replace U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, in the Nov. 3 midterm election. Does her campaign need a boost? Is that why she was here with Landry? She has President Donald Trump’s endorsement and Letlow has paid him back often by saying that he is “the greatest president this country has ever had.”

Newspapers make a special effort during election time not to give any candidates special publicity, especially this close to the Nov. 3 election.

Democrat Jamie Davis of Ferriday, Letlow’s opponent on Nov. 3, certainly has to be upset by Letlow’s LNG coverage this close to the election. Davis was in Lake Charles Friday for a well-attended rally.

The Washington Post also published a story that raises questions. The headline said, “U.S. warnings sow confusion, alarm in Ukraine over intelligence, Starlink access.”

A Ukrainian military advisor said his country’s Starlink access had been restricted without warning, adding to growing confusion about whether the United States has begun limiting intelligence and military aid to Ukraine.

Starlink is operated by SpaceX, a company owned by Elon Musk, who threatened in 2023 to cut off the Ukrainian military’s access unless the U.S. government paid for it. The Pentagon agreed to pay.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Tuesday statement, “A Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv. Once again, no early warning from our partners. The main target was energy infrastructure.”

Musk said Zelenskyy has gone too far. He said Starlink is controlled by SpaceX, while Starshield is controlled by the U.S. government.

“Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the U.S. military and ultimately by POTUS (president of the United States),” Musk wrote.

Zelenskyy claimed that ballistic missiles hit Kyiv without warning Monday and Tuesday night, endangering the lives of civilians who rely on air raid sirens to get to safety in nearby bomb shelters.

OK, if Ukraine didn’t get the warnings it needs, who is responsible for that? Musk said it isn’t him, it’s the U.S. military or the president.

Trump is buying diesel fuel from Russian President Vladimir Putin, which helps Russia’s Ukraine war effort, but who curbed Ukrainian’s missile warnings that killed Ukrainians?

Zelenskyy said Thursday, “It’s painful when President Trump chooses one side, not our side. But we are OK that he’s in the middle.”

Someone is pushing Trump into a stance that is “not the right side of history,” he said.

Finally, there is The Associated Press story about whether Katie Zacharia, the new White House press secretary, who has long described herself as a lawyer, has ever passed the bar exam.

The AP said so far, she and the White House have offered no evidence that she passed the bar exam in any state or in China, where she worked for a large law firm years ago.

China’s notoriously difficult bar exam can only be taken by a Chinese citizen.

Zacharia received a bachelor of arts degree from Pepperdine University in 2007 and received her law degree from Pepperdine Caruso School of Law in 2011.

A statement from the White House said, “I practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials.”

None of that matters now because Zacharia left her job Friday.

Many Americans may believe this was an overblown story that doesn’t deserve the coverage it has gotten. However, people who work for the government — national, state or local —need to be honest when they apply for work and when they say they have credentials they may not have.

A presidential press secretary speaks for the president almost daily. We need to be able to trust whatever they might say.

Jim Beam, the retired editor of the American Press, has covered people and politics for more than six decades. Contact him at [email protected].