The academic President Trump called a 'spy' who reached out to key members of the Trump campaign with Russia links also had his resume floated for Trump ambassadorship.

Stefan Halper has been revealed to have kept tabs on Trump campaign contacts including George Papadopoulos and Carter Page, who both drew the interest of the FBI during the campaign due to their Russia contacts.

The Cambridge University professor also had his name put forward by Trump economic adviser Peter Navarro during the transition, Axios reported Monday.

Stefan Halper, a Cambridge University professor, had his name put forward for a Trump administration ambassadorship in Asia, Axios reported

Navarro, a China critic and himself an academic who serves as an assistant to Trump, forwarded Halper's resume during the transition, when insiders were being asked to fill senior and mid-level administration jobs.

Halper also visited the White House complex for a meeting about China, according to a White House official.

The White House ended the practice of releasing visitor logs to the public that would allow for a complete search.

It was not immediately clear what country in Asia Halper was recommended for.

Peter Navarro, director of the National Trade Council, pauses during a Bloomberg Television interview outside the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, March 28, 2018

A White House official downplayed the plug for the man Trump is now labeling a 'spy.'

'Recommending outside policy experts for roles within the administration is a pretty typical and routine action for White House officials,' a White House official is quoted as saying in the report.

If he had landed the nomination and been confirmed by the Senate, Halper the Trump administration would have been the fourth for Halper. He previously served in the Nixon, Ford, and Reagan administrations.

Trump has tweeted that the Justice Department put a 'spy' in his campaign.

'Reports are there was indeed at least one FBI representative implanted, for political purposes, into my campaign for president. It took place very early on, and long before the phony Russia Hoax became a “hot” Fake News story. If true - all time biggest political scandal!' he tweeted on Friday.

Papadopoulos sat down in London for dinner with Halper and was asked what he knew about Russians hacking Hillary Clinton's emails – a question that now appears part of a spy plot

Halper also cultivated a relationship with Carter Page, a Trump aide, and invited him to visit his home in Virginia

Navarro had Trump's ear during the campaign, and helped craft his tough-on-China strategy.

He has also been a force inside the White House, pushing for a tough approach to Chinese trade practices that helped bring a trade war that Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin recently said was being put on pause.

Halper, had contacts with Trump campaign advisers including Papadopoulos, Carter Page and former national campaign co-chairman Sam Clovis.

During one of their dinners, Halper asked Papadopoulos whether he was involved in Russian hacking of Democratic emails, The Daily Caller reported.

'George, you know about hacking the emails from Russia, right?' he asked, according to multiple news reports.

The Washington Post and New York Times both reported Halper's existence as an informant but did not publish his identity. Halper's name had been circulating among reporters and others in Washington for weeks – as Republicans in Congress put pressure on the Justice Department to release the name and work product of the the FBI's informant.

STEFAN HALPER'S TARGETS IN TRUMPWORLD CIA-linked Cambridge professor Stefan Halper tried to get close to at least three Donald Trump advisers in 2016 and 2017, reportedly to learn for the FBI whether they were links between the Trump campaign and Moscow. Here's a look at some of the key figures in the latest drama in Trump-world: Stefan Halper Stefan Halper is an an academic who cultivated figures in Donald Trump's campaign Carter Page Carter Page was a Trump advisor that drew immediate interest of investigators due to his longstanding Russia ties. The New York Times reported that a government informant met with him several times during the campaign. He is mentioned repeatedly in the Steele dossier, and was the subject of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court warrant that authorized monitoring of his activities. Former Trump foreign policy advisor Carter Page makes a presentation titled 'Departing from Hypocrisy: Potential Strategies in the Era of Global Economic Stagnation, Security Threats and Fake News' during his December 2016 visit to Moscow George Papadopoulos Papadopoulos was one of just a handful of early foreign policy advisors identified by President Trump at the start of his campaign. His boozy chat with the top Australian diplomat in London helped kick off the Russia probe. Halper met with him several times during the campaign. Halper arranged for him to get paid $3,000 for a policy paper on energy issues, and emailed him about the status of the 'collusion' investigation George Papadopoulos, whose boozy chat with the top Australian diplomat in London helped kick off the Russia probe Sam Clovis Halper met with Clovis offering to assist the campaign with his foreign policy expertise. Their conversations over coffee in northern Virginia focused on China, according to Clovis' lawyer. He served as co-chair of Trump's campaign and according to court records recruited Papadopoulos, a young aide without a long resume, to join the campaign. Sam Clovis ran for office in Iowa and hosted a conservative radio show, then co-chaired Donald Trump's campaign. He recruited George Papadopoulos to join the effort Advertisement

Halper's 2012 book, 'The Beijing Consensus: Legitimizing Authoritarianism in Our Time,' warns of the dangers of Chinese-style capitalism to the U.S. and its allies.