The son-in-law of President Donald Trump says a June 2016 meeting with a Russian-American lawyer was such a “waste of time” that he asked his assistant to call him out of the gathering.

That's according to a statement Jared Kushner is providing to congressional committees this week.

Emails released this month show Donald Trump Jr accepted the meeting at Trump Tower with the idea that he would receive damaging information about Hillary Clinton. But Kushner says he hadn't seen those emails until recently shown them by his lawyers.

Kushner said in his statement that Trump Jr invited him to the meeting. He says he arrived late and heard the lawyer discussing the issue of adoptions. He says he texted his assistant to call him out of the meeting.

President Donald Trump's son-in-law says that he only had four contacts with Russians during the campaign and presidential transition and that none of them were improper.

Jared Kusher also says he never colluded with any foreign government during the presidential campaign. He also is denying that Russians finance any of his business in the private sector.

Kushner is disclosing the information in an 11-page statement provided to The Associated Press.

The release of the statement comes just hours before he is to be interviewed by a Senate committee investigating Russia's meddling in the 2016 election and any possible collusion by Trump associates.

The interview with the Senate intelligence committee is behind closed doors.