WASHINGTON, May 6 (UPI) -- A Republican senator said Thursday Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should expect "tough questioning" on Capitol Hill Friday.
Rumsfeld will testify to the Senate Armed Services Committee Friday on the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal. He is expected to explain why Congress was not notified earlier about the full extent of the abuse.
"We told him that he needs to be prepared to come forward with some facts and to expect some tough questioning from the members of the Senate Armed Services Committee," said Colorado Sen. Wayne Allard at the Pentagon after a meeting with Rumsfeld.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said the way the story came to public light -- on CBS "60 Minutes" and in the New Yorker magazine -- was "more damaging than we wished it would have been, and I wish we could have avoided that."
White House officials said President George W. Bush rebuked Rumsfeld Thursday for not telling him about the graphic pictures before they aired.
Rumsfeld was already called to Capitol Hill for a closed-door meeting earlier this week. Friday's hearing will be public.
