The law firm of former Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.) was paid $20,000 a month to advance Taiwan's interests in Washington, according to documents filed with the Justice Department.

Public documents under the Foreign Agents Registration Act show the Taiwanese government paid Alston & Bird LLP, a law firm that lists Dole as special counsel, thousands of dollars to lobby for the government's interests. The firm also helped Taiwanese officials meet with Republican lawmakers in Washington. The details of the contract were first reported by BuzzFeed News.

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The Wall Street Journal has reported that Dole helped set up President-elect Donald Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE's controversial call with the president of Taiwan last week.

On Monday, Dole said he "may have had some influence" in setting up the call, which was seen by some political observers to break with tradition of refusing to recognize Taiwan as an independent nation from China. The last call a U.S. president made to a Taiwanese leader was in 1979.

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, Taiwan's de facto embassy, was the group Dole's law firm represented. It agreed to pay Alston & Bird LLP a $20,000 monthly retainer in 2016. In total, the group has paid Dole's law firm approximately $200,000 since November of last year.



Under the contract, Dole advocated on behalf of the Taiwanese government to former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Department of Homeland Security secretaries Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff, and former Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte, BuzzFeed reported.

Dole also said he would help Taiwan become involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which Trump has promised to end.

— Megan R. Wilson contributed.