Here's what we know about the FBI 'informant' and the government's more than $1M in payments to him

After it was revealed the FBI or CIA placed an informant in the Trump campaign, the New York Times and Washington Post began slowly leaking information about the identity of the informant, yet never revealing his identity.

Then, after publishing very specific details about him last week, numerous outlets — such as the Daily Caller, the Intercept and the Wall Street Journal — identified former Cambridge professor Stefan Halper as the likely informant. The Post labeled him "the FBI source who assisted the Russia investigation."

Now, we are learning more information about Halper, such as how much he made working for the government and what he did after Donald Trump was elected president.

What is Halper's background?

Halper earned his doctorate degree from Oxford in 1971 and went on to work for three Republican presidential administrations, those of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan. Between 2001 and 2015, Halper worked at Cambridge as a professor of international affairs and American studies.

In 1980, Halper was accused of leading a political spying operation on behalf of then-GOP presidential candidate Reagan. They were accused of stealing documents then-President Jimmy Carter used to prepare for a debate against Reagan. Reagan aides later claimed Halper used CIA agents in the operation. He has vehemently denied the accusations.

Throughout his career, Halper has maintained deep connections in the intelligence community, even hosting an intelligence seminar at Cambridge that brought together "past and present intelligence officials," according to the Washington Post. In 2014, he hosted a seminar with Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6.

In 2012, Halper began working for the U.S. government as contractor, specifically for the Department of Defense's Office of Net Assessment, the DOD's internal think thank. Between 2012 and 2018, he was paid more than $1 million.

What work did he do for the government?

While some speculate Halper's earnings are related to covert work with the government, such as spy work for the FBI or CIA, government records are not entirely clear what he was paid for outside of short descriptions.

Records indicate he was paid for:

• For work completed between May 30, 2012 and May 29, 2013, Halper was paid $197,626 for "direct labor."
• For work completed between July 29, 2014 and July 31, 2015, Halper was paid $204,000 for "research and studies — the year 2030."
• For work completed between Sept. 24, 2015 and Sept. 27, 2016, Halper was paid $244,960 for a "Russia-China relationship study."
• For work completed between July 26, 2016 and March 29, 2018, Halper was paid $411,575 for more "direct labor."

What did he do after Trump was elected?

According to reporting from Axios, Halper submitted his resume to become an ambassador in Asia upon the recommendation of Peter Navarro, a top Trump aide. He even attended a meeting on China at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington last August. The EEOB is just adjacent to the White House.

Although Axios was able to confirm Halper was submitted as a candidate for an ambassadorship in Asia, it was unable to confirm for which country he was considered.