Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., may not be pumping the brakes very hard on the Senate Judiciary Committee's investigation into alleged Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuse after all.

Addressing reporters Tuesday morning, Graham, the committee chairman, said he would "back off" the investigation after learning Attorney General William Barr had tasked U.S. Attorney John Durham from Connecticut with examining the origins of the federal Russia investigation.

"You've now got a prosecutor. I don't want to get in their way, I don't want to mess up his criminal investigation, and I don't want to put people at risk, so I'm going to back off," he said.

But a source told the New York Times that Durham is only conducting a review and not a criminal inquiry. Informed about the difference, Graham acknowledged it altered his stance.

“That is completely different," he told the Times, adding that he would likely now wait for a FISA abuse investigation by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz, which is expected to wrap up in late May or June.

“If there is not a criminal investigation, then oversight will be different," he said.