According to MSNBC.com, Senator Susan Collins of Maine issued a statement to the press, but it hasn't been indexed on her official web site. So, it's unclear how much credit it should receive.

The President's Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, obviously thought refuting the ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee important enough to address the Senator's "concerns" point by point.

The Senator's statement:

"I remain concerned that there was no consultation with intelligence officials before the Department of Justice unilaterally decided to treat Abdulmutallab as if he were an ordinary criminal. If Abdulmutallab is now talking in the context of plea negotiations, that is, of course, welcome, but it implies that the government is willing to grant him a measure of leniency for the information he is willing to provide. We will never know whether the quality and quantity of information might have been superior had he not been given a lawyer who is now guiding him on what to reveal and what not to disclose. The lack of coordination on the front end and the inexplicable, reflexive choice to use a law enforcement approach were dangerous decisions."

And Robert Gibbs' response:

First, all the senior leadership in government involved in intelligence knew that Abdulmutallab was being indicted more than a day before and they supported that decision. Those represented in the Situation Room who discussed how he would be indicted in an Article III include the following:

Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, National Security Agency head LT General Keith Alexander, Attorney General Eric Holder, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, FBI Director Bob Mueller, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, National Counter Terrorism Center Director Mike Leiter, National Security Advisor General Jim Jones, Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

and

Second, the Bush administration attempted to deny Jose Padilla access to counsel when he was detained as an "enemy combatant," but was overruled by federal judge Michael Mukasey. Mukasey went on to become the Attorney General in the Bush Administration. Mukasey declared that Padilla had a right to access to counsel, even when being held as an enemy combatant. Mukasey even rejected the Bush Administration's arguments that granting Padilla access to counsel for the purposes of contesting the factual basis of his detention would "jeopardize the two core purposes of detaining enemy combatants—gathering intelligence about the enemy, and preventing the detainee from aiding in any further attacks against America." If Abdulmutallab were detained as an enemy combatant, the same standard would have applied to him. If Abdulmutallab were prosecuted in military commissions, he would also be given access to an attorney.

That a person who helps set national security policy is unfamiliar with the law is upsetting, if only because it demonstrates an inability to learn from mistakes.

Fifth, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is part of the intelligence community. Since 9/11, the FBI has made preventing terrorism its principal mission. The men and women of the FBI have disrupted plots, saved American lives, and acquired intelligence that has allowed us to take the fight to terrorists overseas. That includes the counter-terrorism professionals who were on the scene in Detroit, and those who continue to gather critical intelligence from Abdulmutallab while politicians in Washington second-guess their work.