Sessions schedules Senate testimony ... US progressives celebrate UK elections ... Sanders in 2020?

CNN Politics:  Nightcap
June 11, 2017   |   by Eli Watkins

Sessions to the Senate on Tuesday?

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Saturday that he would send his deputy in his place to the House and Senate appropriations subcommittees Tuesday while he heads over to the Senate intelligence committee.

The change-up has prompted the question: Will his testimony be public? 

CNN's Brianna Keilar asked Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and the California Democrat said she didn't know if it would happen, let alone if it would be public -- issues the panel is still debating, reports CNN's Manu Raju. Meanwhile, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, a member of the panel, issued a letter saying it had better be.

Senate intelligence committee Chairman Richard Burr and ranking member Mark Warner of Virginia have yet to provide details about Sessions' testimony.

A Justice Department official told CNN's Manu Raju the testimony would likely come in a closed session, but the final determination on that will come from the committee. 

Recall this CNN report from Thursday: Former FBI Director James Comey told the Senate intelligence committee in closed session that Sessions may have met with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak a third time, according to people familiar with the briefing.

Meanwhile, Department of Justice special counsel Robert Mueller has been quietly and methodically building the equivalent of a small US attorney's office.
 

STRAIGHT UP

"I refused to return the call"

 

-- Former US attorney Preet Bharara tells ABC about the three times President Donald Trump called him

BUZZING

White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said her 3-year-old got a hold of her phone.

BAR TALK

UK election leaves progressive gathering seeing red

CNN's Greg Krieg files a dispatch getting a view from the left:

More than 4,000 progressive activists and diehard "Berniecrats" spent this sweltering weekend in Chicago, at the People's Summit, a three-day gathering of liberals and their groups, but many had their eyes and ears on the United Kingdom, where leftist Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party leveled the Conservative government's majority in a general election Thursday. 

What does it mean and why does it matter? 

To start, apart from a few recent lower-profile races, the progressive movement has not exactly been racking up the wins. Coalitions are growing, excitement and engagement are up, but large-scale success -- like Labour's big day, which left the UK with a hung Parliament -- was taken here as validation and proof that progressive policies and message can work, that voters will support what more-cautious liberals worry might scare off the center. (Note here: Conservatives are expected to keep power in the UK, but only barely, and it's a pretty good bet that yet another round of new elections might not be far off. By comparison, most pundits and even Labour officials feared a wipeout as recently as a few weeks ago.)

"For the many, not the few," was Labour's slogan -- one that, if the weekend event in Chicago is any indication, you should expect to hear more of from the American left.

While the UK results emboldened the crowds, it was Sen. Bernie Sanders who electrified them. The Vermont independent spoke to the convention, gathered for its second annual meeting, on Saturday night. His speech was mostly familiar campaign-trail fare, updated to note current events, but included some searing criticism of the Democratic Party establishment. 

He called its "current model and the current strategy" an "absolute failure" and tweaked officials for not dedicating more assets to contests in traditionally red voter hubs. 

So is Sanders planning to jump back in the fray, in 2020, and fix it from the inside? 

"I would say that we intend to play a role in the 2020 election," his wife, Jane Sanders, said Saturday. "What that is remains to be decided, but nobody should step back. They should be completely engaged now and the leadership will rise. It will emerge." 

One more mystery unsolved. (More on that tomorrow …)

Tapper's advice to a graduating class

CNN's Jake Tapper gave the commencement address at his alma mater, Dartmouth College, this weekend. Here's some of his advice for the graduating class.

First, the easy:
  • "Always write thank-you notes"
  • "Be a big tipper"
  • "Always split Aces and eights"
  • "Don't tweet, post, Instagram or email anything you wouldn't feel comfortable seeing on the front page of The New York Times"
  • "Use two-step verification"
Now, the serious:
  • "Don't worry if you don't know what you want to do for the rest of your life"
  • "Have something that they want.  And show it to them -- over and over, every day"
  • "Not every expert is expert. Quite a few of them will be wrong. Some of them will be downright idiots"
  • "Don't just work hard at your job: Work hard at everything"
Here's the full speech.

TIPSY

A supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders wears a shirt with the senator's likeness on it at the People's Summit in Chicago.

LAST CALL

5 things you might have missed

There's no working relationship between 45 and 44: President Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama haven't spoken since the inauguration, and there's been no move to mend things since Trump accused Obama over wiretapping him. Read more from CNN's Kevin Liptak.

The US military says it droned insurgents in Somalia: It would be the first strike since Trump eased rules aimed at protecting civilians, although no civilians were reported killed so far, reports The New York Times' Charlie Savage, Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt.

Conservatives say they're losing health care fight: The Senate's attempt to take on Obamacare is ongoing, but after last week, some conservatives are signaling its not going their way. Read more from CNN's Lauren Fox.

White House denies a delay on UK visit: The Guardian reported Sunday that Trump told Prime Minister Theresa May he was delaying a state visit to the UK over fears of large protests. A senior administration source denied the subject even came up. Read more from CNN's Athena Jones, Jeff Zeleny and James Masters.

Colorado governor's race gets another big name: Democratic Rep. Jared Polis added himself to the slate of candidates looking to replace the outgoing Gov. John Hickenlooper. Read more from the Denver Post's Mark Matthews, who notes the race "already lacks a clear favorite."

CLOSING TIME

Donald Trump Jr. seems to contradict his father. ... CNN's MJ Lee accidentally reached former FBI Director James Comey on the phone. ... Sen. Susan Collins says President Donald Trump should give a "yes or no" answer to questions about "tapes."

Thanks for reading the CNN Politics Nightcap. Your bartender is Eli Watkins. The tip jar: nightcap@cnn.com.
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Your bartender for CNN Politics' Nightcap is Eli Watkins — Tips, thoughts and beer recommendations are always welcome at nightcap@cnn.com.


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