WASHINGTON - Last week's phone chat between Donald Trump and the president of Taiwan wasn't just a spur-of-the-moment thing.

According to federal filings and published reports, it was the result of six months of behind-the-scenes work by former Sen. Bob Dole, acting on behalf of the Taiwanese government.

The filings show that Taiwan paid Dole's lobbying firm $140,000 from May to October for the work Dole was doing -- which included putting language in the GOP platform supporting Taiwan.

Dole tells the Wall Street Journal, "It's fair to say that we may have had some influence" in arranging the phone call.

The call was a breach of diplomatic protocol. And Trump advisers have made conflicting statements about whether it signaled a new policy toward China.