Attorney General Jeff Sessions to face House judiciary panel November 14

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions will testify before the House Judiciary Committee about issues facing the Justice Department on Nov. 14, the committee confirmed on Tuesday. The hearing will take place at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT), it said in a statement. Reuters reported on Monday that the committee would hold a hearing with Sessions next week. It will offer Democrats their first opportunity to question him about his past statements regarding contacts between President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign and Russian intermediaries. In a letter to Sessions on Tuesday, all 17 Democratic members of the Judiciary Committee told the attorney general they would question him about his past denials of communications between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. Court filings made by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russia's role in the election, indicate that Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos made Sessions aware of his contacts with Russian representatives. "When you appear before our Committee, we intend to ask you about these inconsistencies. We are providing you with notice in advance because we expect you to respond," ranking committee Democrat Rep. John Conyers and his colleagues wrote Sessions. Separately, although some congressional aides had expected Sessions to also appear in a closed session of the House Intelligence Committee on Nov. 14, a Justice Department spokesman said there are no plans for him to do so. (Reporting by Makini Brice, Warren Strobel and Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Tim Ahmann and James Dalgleish)