Rep. Beto O'Rourke (Texas), a Democratic candidate for Senate, said earlier in April he would vote to impeach President Donald Trump but is now calling the impeachment conversation "premature."
On MSNBC's "Kasie DC" Sunday night, host Kasie Hunt asked O'Rourke about whether he has "seen the president commit an impeachable offense so far."
O'Rourke declined to give a direct answer, saying lawmakers should be focused on special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.
"Here's what we should focus on: the integrity and the independence of the Bob Mueller investigation," he said.
He said the findings of the investigation should be presented to the House before lawmakers make a decision about whether the president committed impeachable offenses.
"Until those facts are presented and are compelling enough for people to put country before party, I do think the conversation is premature," O'Rourke said.
When he was asked by radio host Chad Hasty on April 9 whether he would vote to impeach the president, O'Rourke said, "The answer is yes, because I want to be straight with you."
"I've seen an attempt, no matter how ham-handed, to collude with a foreign government in our national election," O'Rourke said.
Despite his desire to give a "straight" answer, however, he did proceed to qualify his comments, noting "we must await all the facts, all the truth, all the information, forthcoming from the Bob Mueller investigation."
O'Rourke will face Sen. Ted Cruz (R.) in the general election this November.