(CNN) -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will finally take questions from members of Congress on Wednesday about the deadly terror attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.
Lawmakers have long wanted Clinton's full accounting of the September 11 assault that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.
They also want to ask her about diplomatic security, which the State Department has since re-examined at posts located in overseas hot spots. Agency officials have acknowledged shortcomings and promised changes.
Some of the toughest questions before the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are expected to focus on the Obama administration's slow-to-evolve public explanation of the attack, which triggered an uproar in the middle of a presidential election campaign.
U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice took most of the political heat as mainly Republican lawmakers seized on her public comments the administration has said were based on fast-moving intelligence that later proved to be incorrect.
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Still, some Republicans suggested the administration sought to mute the true nature of the attack to prevent President Barack Obama's political opponents from fully exploiting it in the final weeks of the November campaign.
The issue was so polarizing that Clinton's decision to postpone an initial appearance before Congress in December due to health problems was questioned by her harshest critics as a possible dodge.
It was revealed that she had a virus and suffered a concussion. Clinton was then hospitalized for a blood clot, only returning to work two weeks ago.
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Her testimony will be public and will likely be the most difficult moment of her final days as America's top diplomat.
Despite the controversy, Clinton's poll numbers remain high.
Some of the potential questions she will face:
What did Clinton know?
Republican Sen. John McCain wants a full explanation of Clinton's understanding of the attack -- what happened before, during and after.
The 2008 GOP presidential nominee and the top Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, McCain told CNN this week that he feels "the American people were clearly deceived."
McCain told reporters eight days after the attack that he had information the State Department had been warned.
In mid November, McCain took to the floor of the Senate and accused Obama of lying about the attack.
"The American people have received nothing but contradictory statements from all levels of our government," he said.
The Pentagon released an official timeline that highlighted when Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and his senior commanders were first informed and when follow up decisions were made involving the military.
The timeline shows Panetta and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey were told of the attack about an hour after it started. Both were on their way to the White House for an already scheduled meeting with the president. Thirty minutes later, Obama was directing the Pentagon to do all it could to help, according to senior Pentagon officials.
Obama administration continues explanations of attack
What does Clinton know about cables warning of security threats?
Just hours before the attack, Stevens sent a message to the State Department that referred to a meeting nine days earlier during which the commander of Benghazi's Supreme Security Council "expressed growing frustration with police and security forces" about security capabilities.
That cable, since made public, is part of more than 160 pages of documents that paint a picture of persistent and unpredictable violence in and around Benghazi last year. It also reveals that the U.S. contingent in Benghazi felt it needed more security.
In February, the regional security officer in Tripoli, Eric Nordstrom, warned that having just two diplomatic security agents on the ground in Benghazi made movements outside the U.S. facility impossible.
"I've been placed in a difficult spot when the ambassador tells me I need to support Benghazi," Nordstrom wrote in a February 12 e-mail to the regional director of the Near East Affairs Department at the State Department.
Was Clinton informed about the rise of al Qaeda-linked militants?
In the September 11 cable, a paragraph refers to the "expanding Islamist influence in Derna," a town east of Benghazi, amid reports linking "the Abu Salim Brigade with a troubling increase in violence and Islamist influence."
The Abu Salim Brigade was prominent among the opponents of former strongman Moammar Gadhafi.
The ambassador refers to another meeting on September 9 in which commanders of unofficial militia claimed that the Libyan Armed Forces depended on them to secure eastern Libya, and even supplied them with weapons.
Read more about Stevens' warnings about militants
Communication from the ground up likely will be examined during Clinton's testimony.
'Talking points' cited by Rice and why didn't Clinton give that public explanation?
Rice spoke for the Obama administration on Sunday talk shows on September 16. She made several claims that turned out to be wrong.
The primary complaint from Republicans is that Rice's remarks were centered on anger over the anti-Islam film, "Innocence of Muslims," when there was classified intelligence available suggesting a possible al Qaeda link.
On the talk shows, Rice spoke from unclassified talking points officials said were provided by the intelligence community. She said the armed assault was spontaneous and linked to regional outrage over the film.
Since then, Rice has twice talked to lawmakers about her remarks. In a statement, Rice said her talking points were "incorrect in a key respect: There was no protest or demonstration in Benghazi."
"While we certainly wish that we had had perfect information just days after the terrorist attack, as is often the case," the statement said. "The intelligence assessment has evolved."
Obama defended Rice publicly, but she later withdrew her name from consideration as his likely nominee to replace Clinton at the State Department.
Why has only one attack suspect been detained, and then released?
Ali Harzi was freed earlier this month by a Tunisian judge overseeing the case against him, the country's state news agency reported. He was arrested in Turkey in connection with the Benghazi attack. On January 9, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland referred questions to the FBI, which she said "has the lead on the Benghazi investigation."
The Tunisian news agency, TAP, reported that Harzi had been questioned by Tunisian authorities and the FBI "as a witness and not a suspect."
But a U.S. federal law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the probe said he remains a suspect.
The fact that Harzi has been freed from detention "doesn't mean he's any less a suspect," the official said, adding Harzi does not appear on video taken of the Benghazi compound.
Investigators have identified at least 15 people who may be suspects, the official told CNN, indicating some were identified on the video.
"We will get indictments," the official said. "but it's not possible to put a timetable on it."
Reports on the attack
In December, an independent review of the Benghazi assault cited "systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies" at the State Department.
Four State Department officials, including two who oversaw security decisions for Benghazi, were disciplined a day after the report was released.
Clinton got a copy of the report and said in letters to State Department chiefs that she accepted its recommendations to beef up security and intelligence gathering in high-threat areas.
Before the report came out, Clinton had popular approval ratings in nationwide polls.
A December Bloomberg National Poll showed 70 percent of Americans had a mostly favorable view of her. Polls from Politico/George Washington University, ABC News/Washington Post and the Siena College Research Institute also showed high marks.
Confusion, contradictions in hunt for Benghazi suspects
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Hillary Rodham, center, a lawyer for the Rodino Committee, and John Doar, left, chief counsel for the committee, bring impeachment charges against President Richard Nixon in the Judiciary Committee hearing room at the U.S. Capitol in 1974.
Bill Clinton embraces his wife shortly after a stage light fell near her on January 26, 1992. They talk to Don Hewitt, producer of the CBS newsmagazine "60 Minutes."
With Hillary, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton waves to the crowd during his victory party after winning the Illinois primary on March 17, 1992.
Al Gore, from left, his wife, Tipper, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton wave to supporters at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York, on August 23, 1992, after they gave speeches on family values.
Clinton gestures at a campaign rally November 3, 1992, in Denver. After taking office, President Bill Clinton chose his wife to head a special commission on health care reform, the most significant public policy initiative of his first year in office.
Bill and Hillary Clinton have a laugh together on Capitol Hill in 1993.
Clinton pours herself a cup of tea during her testimony to the Senate Education and Labor Committee on health care reform in 1993.
Clinton speaks at George Washington University on September 10, 1993, in Washington, during her husband's first term.
Clinton, left, waves to the media on January 26, 1996, as she arrives at federal court in Washington for an appearance before a grand jury. The first lady was subpoenaed to testify as a witness in the investigation of the Whitewater land deal in Arkansas.
Hillary Clinton looks on as President Bill Clinton addresses the Monica Lewinsky scandal in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on January 26, 1998.
Hillary and Bill Clinton arrive at Foundry United Methodist Church on August 16, 1998, in Washington. He became the first sitting president to testify before a grand jury when he testified via satellite about the Monica Lewinsky matter.
Clinton shakes hands during a St. Patrick's Day parade in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Queens, New York, on March 5, 2000.
Clinton waves to the crowd as she arrives on the stage at the Democratic National Convention on August 14, 2000, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Clinton campaigns for a Senate seat at Grand Central Station on October 25, 2000, in New York.
First lady Hillary Clinton is sworn in as a senator in a reenactment ceremony with President Bill Clinton, from left, nephew Tyler, daughter Chelsea, brother Hugh Rodham, mother Dorothy Rodham and Vice President Al Gore in the Old Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill on January 3, 2001, in Washington.
Andrew Cuomo, from left, Eliot Spitzer and Clinton celebrate with the crowd of Democratic supporters after their wins in their various races on November 7, 2006, in New York.
Clinton speaks during a post-primary rally on January 8, 2007, at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire.
The Clintons pay a visit to the 92nd Annual Hopkinton State Fair on September 2, 2007, in Contoocook, New Hampshire.
Clinton speaks at a fall kickoff campaign rally on September 2, 2007, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Clinton addresses a question during a Democratic presidential candidates debate at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, on September 26, 2007. Also pictured are U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, left, and former U.S. Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska.
Felipe Bravo, left, and Christian Caraballo are covered with Hillary Clinton stickers in downtown Manchester, New Hampshire, on January 8, 2008.
Clinton campaigns with her daughter, Chelsea, on January 1, 2008, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, two days ahead of the January 3 state caucus.
Sen. Clinton waves as she speaks to supporters at the National Building Museum on June 7, 2008, in Washington. Clinton thanked her supporters and urged them to back Sen. Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States.
Barack Obama and Clinton talk on the plane on their way to a Unity Rally in Unity, New Hampshire, on June 27, 2008.
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama watches Sen. Hillary Clinton address the Democrate National Convention at a Democratic supporters' group in Billings, Montana, on August 26, 2008. The two endured a long, heated contest for the 2008 nomination.
Sen. Charles Schumer, left, looks toward Secretary of State designate Clinton as committee chairman Sen. John Kerry, center, looks on during nomination hearings on January 13, 2009, on Capitol Hill.
Clinton testifies during her confirmation hearing for secretary of state before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill on January 13, 2009, in Washington.
Clinton dances with a local choir as while visiting the Victoria Mxenge Housing Project in Philippi on the outskirts of Cape Town, Souith Africa, on August 8, 2009.
Clinton looks through binoculars toward North Korea during a visit to observation post Ouellette at the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas in Panmunjom on July 21, 2010.
Clinton walks up the steps to her aircraft at sunset as she leaves an ASEAN meeting July 23, 2010, in Hanoi, Vietnam.
From left: Hillary and Bill Clinton pose on the day of their daughter Chelsea's wedding to Marc Mezvinsky at the Astor Courts Estate on July 31, 2010, in Rhinebeck, New York.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Clinton observe a moment of silence before a NATO meeting on November 19, 2010, in Lisbon, Portugal.
Clinton listens as Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (not in picture) makes a brief statement before a bilateral meeting at the State Department in Washington on November 29, 2010.
Clinton shakes hands with a child during an unannounced walk through Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, on March 16, 2011.
President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Clinton and members of the national security team receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House on May 1, 2011.
Clinton checks her PDA upon departure in a military C-17 plane from Malta bound for Tripoli, Libya, on October 18, 2011.
Clinton speaks as Hamid Karzai, president of Afghanistan, listens during a news conference at the presidential palace in Kabul on July 7, 2012.
Clinton arrives at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod, outside Tel Aviv, Israel, on July 15, 2012.
Clinton looks on as President Barack Obama makes a statement in response to the attack at the U.S. Consulate in Libya on September 12, 2012 at the Rose Garden of the White House.
Clinton applauds Aung San Suu Kyi during a ceremony where Suu Kyi was presented with the Congressional Gold Medal on September 19, 2012 in the Rotunda of the Capitol in Washington, DC.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton kisses his wife after introducing her at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting on September 24, 2012 in New York City.
Clinton shakes hands with Libyan President Mohamed Magariaf on September 24, 2012 in New York.
Clinton stands during a press conference following meetings at the Prime Minister's Office in Pristina, Kosovo, on October 31, 2012. Clinton said that Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence, fiercely opposed by Serbia, was 'not up for discussion'.
Clinton chats with Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi before President Barack Obama speaks at the University of Yangon in Yangon on November 19, 2012.
President Barack Obama looks at Clinton before the start of a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, far right, during the East Asian Summit at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on November 20, 2012.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shakes hands with Clinton at the prime minister's office November 20, 2012 in Jerusalem, Israel. Clinton arrived in Israel as efforts by Western and Arab diplomats to end the confrontation between Israel and Gaza have escalated.
Clinton arrives on December 4, 2012 for a meeting of foreign ministers from the 28 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member-countries in Brussels to discuss Syria and Turkey's request for Patriot missiles to be deployed protectively on the Turkish-Syrian border.
Clinton receives a sports jersey and football helmet from Deputy Secretary Tom Nides, center, after returning to work on January 7, following a fall where she hit her head and doctors later detected a blood clot. The jersey had her last name on the top and with the number 112, which represents the number of countries that she has visited as Secretary of State.
Clinton and her husband arrive for inauguration for President Barack Obama's second term at the U.S. Capitol on January 21.
Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill on January 23, in Washington, DC. Lawmakers questioned Clinton about the security failures during the September 11 attacks against the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, that led to the death of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
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