An explosive new report claims that an NBC News employee leaked the 2005 Access Hollywood audio in which President Donald Trump bragged about grabbing women by the 'p****'' with Billy Bush.

Multiple sources tell Page Six that a staffer at Today was responsible for sending the tape to the Washington Post back in October, after the individual grew tired of waiting for Access Hollywood to air an edited version of the footage.

NBC reportedly wanted the tape out there because off their disdain for Trump, while the Today employee who allegedly leaked the audio wanted Bush out of a job because Matt Lauer disliked the host.

In the end, the tape's release only managed to accomplish one of its alleged goals, with Bush currently out of work and back in Los Angeles and President Trump occupying the White House.

A Today insider was quick to blast the report however, saying: 'The leak did not come from Today. It was leaked by somebody on the West Coast who hated Billy Bush and wanted to take him down.'

Even Lauer commented on this new report, stating: 'This story is a complete fantasy, patently false.'

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Sabatoge: A source claims that an employee at Today leaked the audio from a 2005 interview between Donald Trump and Billy Bush (Bush and Matt Lauer above during coverage of the Rio Olympics in August)

Multiple plans: NBC wanted the footage released to derail Trump's campaign, while the staffer allegedly wanted the tape's release to result in Bush's firing (Lauer and Bush above in Rio)

'The leaked tape served a dual purpose: It helped get Bush out of the way - Matt Lauer didn’t like him and felt he was a liability - and NBC thought it would derail Trump,' said the source.

Another source added: 'The leak was not just a political move. Lauer felt threatened.'

Lauer had a number of issues with Bush according to the sources, including the emergence of unsubstantiated rumors claiming the newest member of the Today family might eventually take the top spot at the morning show.

A source also said that Today employees viewed Bush as a 'frat boy.'

Bush had been in Lauer's sights ever since August of that year according to one source.

They said the show's longtime anchor was not happy with how he handled his now infamous interview with Olympian Ryan Lochte in Rio de Janeiro.

This is why Bush's audio was not edited or erased according to a source who said: 'NBC News knew for a while about the existence of the tape. Billy himself had told them about it.'

That individual then added: 'People in the news division became frustrated that ‘Access Hollywood’ was taking too long to air it and decided it had to come out.'

The release of the footage managed to 'crush' Bush and cost him his job.

But the leak had little real impact on Trump, there was no time put in to trying to find the culprit.

'There was no investigation, no internal witch hunt by NBC into who leaked the tape. It served their purposes,' said the source.

Why the delay: NBC News was also reportedly upset at how long it was taking for the news to come out, with Access Hollywood working on an edited version of the audio (Bush and Trump above in the 2005 footage with Arianne Zucker)

Batting .500: Bush was fired from Today after the explosive tape was leaked in October , and one month later President Trump (above in 2013 with Donald Jr. Eric and Ivanka) was elected to the highest office in the country

On the tape, Bush can be heard calling actress Arianne Zucker, who was then on Days of Our Lives, 'hot as s***,' and also saying nothing while Trump goes on about his co-host Nancy O'Dell.

'I did try and f*** her. She was married,' Trump tells Bush on the tapes, the transcript of which was first published by The Washington Post on Friday.

'And I moved on her very heavily. In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said, "I’ll show you where they have some nice furniture."'

Trump went on to say: 'I moved on her like a b****, but I couldn’t get there. And she was married.

'Then all of a sudden I see her, she’s now got the big phony tits and everything. She’s totally changed her look.'

Bush later apologized, but according to one insider at NBC that was not enough for the network.

Billy was spotted sneaking in a workout soon after he was fired from Today (above)

'What is stunning is how self-important Billy is. He bragged about this in Rio and many people believe Access Hollywood management knew about this for much longer than they are saying and they were protecting Billy while not doing the right thing and informing NBC News,' the source told DailyMail.com.

That individual went to to say that Bush was 'never a fit' for the program.

'What angers a lot of people is that before Billy even started on the show, he was trying to position himself as the heir to Matt, but he’s not even close to being in Matt’s league. Billy is a presenter, not a journalist and NBC was never going to let that happen,' said the source.

An NBC insider also shot down rumors at the time that there were ever plans to edit Bush out of the audio.

A letter was sent to NBC staff nine days after the tape's release confirming Bush's departure from the network.

It read: 'Dear Colleagues, Billy Bush will be leaving the Today show's 9am hour, effective today.

'While he was a new member of the Today team, he was a valued colleague and longtime member of the broader NBC family. We wish him success as he goes forward.'

It is believed that Bush earned a $10million severance package when he exited, and has been in Los Angeles ever since.

He joined NBC's flagship morning show in August of last year, signing a deal that was said to be worth $3.5million a year.