BRAD MELTZER: What if I were to
tell you, that the cornerstone of our
democracy is actually missing? In 1792, stonemasons
laid the cornerstone for the White House. It's the first government
building in Washington. Now, descriptions of the stone
vary from something small that you can carry to
something that's massive. The men who placed it
were brothers in one of the world's most
secretive organizations-- of course, the Freemasons. The day after it's placed,
the stone vanishes. This thing just disappears. Some people say that the stone
was described by our founding fathers. Others say it was hollow, but
it contained landmark documents of great, unimagined wisdom. Many believe this was stolen
by the Masons themselves, but they, of course,
deny any involvement. Whatever the case, nobody
has seen the White House cornerstone for
more than 200 years, and let me tell you right now. I want to know why. I'm Brad Meltzer. I've spent my life
collecting stories. The best include signs, symbols,
and codes, secret meanings that are hidden in plain sight. Some have become the
basis for my novels, but I've only scratched the
surface of what's out there. And now history has
given me the resources to investigate the rest. This is "Decoded." [phone ringing] White House. [laughter]
- Hey. CHRISTINE MCKINLEY: Hey, Brad.
BUDDY LEVY: Listen. We got your message,
and we're on our way to The White House, man. BRAD MELTZER: No one knows where
the first piece of the White House is to this day. And when you tell me that the
very first piece of the White House is missing, I want
to know where it went. Well, Brad, when you say
missing, what do you mean? BRAD MELTZER: Maybe it's that
it's in a different place than we thought. It could be that
someone took it. Some people say that it's
hollow and it contains something special. You know, when the
Masons get involved, the tales get larger and larger. We have the tools, and
we've got to use it. We've got to find it. BUDDY LEVY: So no
pressure, team. Find the cornerstone. BRAD MELTZER: The White House
might be the most famous home in the world. But the Secret Service is very
protective of the exact floor plan, so decoding it, of
course, fascinates me. When President John Adams
first moved in in 1800, it was the biggest home in
America, 28,000 square feet. Today, the black burn
marks still exist-- you can see them on the
basement's original sandstone structure-- from where the
British set fire to the White House in 1814. Originally, it was known
as the President's Palace, or the Executive Mansion. But it was Teddy Roosevelt
who embossed stationery with the term "White
House" on it in 1901, unintentionally renaming
the building from Martha Washington's childhood
home in Virginia. While heavily guarded
now, up until the Truman administration,
you could actually drive under the North
Portico in your car and put up the top on your
convertible during a rainstorm. The West Wing was
completed in 1930. And the White House Complex,
as it's called today, measures some 55,000 square
feet, double its original size. It's got a bowling alley,
jogging track, movie theater, its very own flower shop. But here's the best secret. When you're walking through
the ground floor quarter, you'll see two statues. Make a turn between those. You'll be in a small room with
chairs stacked to the ceiling. That's where they store the
chairs for the state dinner. Well, when you go out the
other side of that room, head down the narrow corridor. When you hit the dead ends,
make a right-hand turn. You'll see a steel door. That is the entrance
to the bomb shelter, the true hidden secret tunnel
that's below the White House. This is the first piece
of the White House we're talking about. It's the first piece of our
democracy, and it's missing. Powerful people have
searched for the cornerstone. Nobody knows where
this thing is. That, to me, is the
definition of a good mystery. SCOTT ROLLE: Where do you think
it would have originally been? CHRISTINE MCKINLEY: The
Masons typically laid them in the northeast corner. So here's the northeast side. SCOTT ROLLE: I don't even know,
really, what a cornerstone is. Or how big were they? How heavy were they? If you get me
material and size, I can calculate how heavy it is. BUDDY LEVY: OK.
- How do you do that is that? Is that a mathematical formula?
CHRISTINE MCKINLEY: Yeah. It's just density
and size, but it's going to be around 150 pounds. My favorite thing
about McKinley is that, as a
mechanical engineer, she needs everything to be
proven using math or science. She doesn't make guesses. She finds facts,
and we need that. And here, her dad was a
Mason, so she knows something about how they work, too. Here's what's intriguing me. Brad said that the answer
lies with the Masons. I think they're behind this
because, with all these secrets they have, maybe they think
there's some kind of power they get from stealing the
White House cornerstone. I mean, it's distinctly
possible that they're the ones that are behind this. Honestly, I'm
kind of disappointed that you would go there. Why would you just
go with the Masons like every other
conspiracy theorist. You haven't even met them.
- Let's see what they look like. I'm really interested to see--
BUDDY LEVY: Ominous? You know what? They're not going to have
horns coming out of their hair, because my dad didn't.
He was a Mason. SCOTT ROLLE: I still think
they've got the information. They hold the key to this. Scott's a former prosecutor. You know what that means? It means he's lied to everyday. No one tells him the truth. So Scott's a skeptic by nature. He questions everything, but
he always follows the evidence. BUDDY LEVY: OK, I'm
on the cornerstone. What is it? What was it for? I've got a hit to the
Library of Congress. There's got to to be some
documentary historical evidence of what happened from the
moment it was laid there all the way to the last time
anyone knows anything about it. BRAD MELTZER: What
I like about Buddy is that he asks the
questions that I would ask and he has this uncanny
ability to use that charm to get people to talk to him. And with everything going
on with the cornerstone, this is going to be
essential for us. SCOTT ROLLE: OK,
we need to find out who's looked for this thing,
what did they find, what didn't they find, [inaudible].
- I'm going to be with you? [laughs]
BUDDY LEVY: Great. And we're going
about the Masons. I'm going to prove to
you what I'm saying. - Are you guys good?
- I think we're good. We're good for now.
I'm keeping an open mind. If he keeps talking crazy,
we're not going to be fine. I'm keeping an open mind. BUDDY LEVY: Well, let's do it. BRAD MELTZER: So now
it's time to divide and conquer to make sure
we cover more territory. Mac and Scott are going
to go speak to a guy who's an expert on the
White House, and he knows about previous searches
there, what might have been found in the past. At the same time,
Buddy's is going to find out about what
cornerstones actually, physically are. JEANNE FOGLE: In
Washington, the cornerstones served a dual purpose. They were functional,
but they were symbolic of this new
government, this new order. So that was the most important
stone of the building. BUDDY LEVY: What about the
size of one of the stones, the actual size in dimensions? Well, it depends
on which building. Let's say these. This is granite. It's 6 and 1/2 feet by 6 and
1/2 feet by 2 and 1/2 feet high. By comparison, how
much larger would you say that the cornerstone
of the White House might be? Well, the White House-- we don't know specifically. It was said to be a large
stone that was placed there. I understand that sometimes
there are brass plaques or plates put in a cornerstone. Well, certainly
for the White House. There was a brass
plaque that was placed under the cornerstone
at the White House, listing the people that were
there, maybe a blessing, the date that it was placed. BUDDY LEVY: So I'm wondering
if cornerstones are ever used as a sort of time capsule. Yes. Some early cornerstones
were hollowed out, and a zinc or copper container
was placed inside and then sealed I'm wondering if there might
be something worth finding in the White House cornerstone. The thing that
would be worth finding would be the brass plaque. From what I
understand, cornerstones were either ceremonial
or functional. So the idea that
cornerstones were sometimes used as time capsules made me
think it's even more likely that someone stole it. SCOTT ROLLE: So Scott,
some serious people have looked for this. Yes, presidents have
searched for this cornerstone. I think the first
search was probably Teddy Roosevelt. They knew the
stone was laid Masonically. And, knowing that Masons
always put their cornerstones to the northeast,
of course, they looked in the northeast corner. But what did they find? Nothing. Really? The next search came during
Truman's administration, and they decided to
take a World War II mine detector to the building. No luck. Couldn't find it either. George Bush Sr. was in office
during the bicentennial of the laying of
the cornerstone. So of course, they
wanted to find it, but they couldn't, so-- And they just can't find it. Just can't find it. To this day, still a mystery. Were they hiding
it in another corner? I think that'd
be a great idea. What better way to keep
it a secret than put it somewhere contrary to where you
normally put your cornerstone? Why do you care about this?
SCOTT BROWN: The cornerstone? Yeah. I am a Mason myself. - Oh, you're a Mason?
- So you're a Mason? Yes. I'm a member of
Federal Lodge No. 1. And believe it or not, it
was started by James Hoban-- Oh, the architect. --who was the architect and
designer of the White House. Interesting, OK. The Freemasons
have spent centuries collecting the most powerful
members of our society. Eight signers of the
Declaration of Independence were Freemasons. Nine signers of the
US constitution. And 14 times they
took the White House. You're telling me
14 presidents are part of the same secret club? I want to know
who's in that club, I want to know what they do. Do you think it's there? I want to believe
that it's there. Why do you want to believe it? I mean, this is the
first stone dedicated for our new capital city. You know, when they were
founding our government, the idea was not that it would
last for five or 50 or 500 years but to last
forever, and I think this stone is a symbol of that. Scott, maybe the stone
is actually missing. Sure, there's always a
chance that it's missing. SCOTT ROLLE: Who would want
to steal the White House cornerstone? You know, I'm trying to
think how I should answer that question. Maybe-- maybe someone who
would want to keep it a secret to preserve it and make
sure that it lasts forever. Who would want-- who would want to
keep it a secret? You? The Masons? I mean, possibly. I mean, obviously the
Freemasons are known to preserve the ancient knowledge. Whenever cornerstones
are laid, it's always in the northeast
corner, yet it might not be in that corner. Maybe they laid
it somewhere else. This is when it got
much more interesting. It certainly made me think
the Masons had the opportunity and possibly the motive. Trying to figure out the
location of this White House cornerstone. Do you have anything in the
archives on the cornerstone specifically? Well, let's look. BUDDY LEVY: White
House cornerstone-- I would think there'd be
pages that would come up. AMBER PARANICK: Well, I only
have one specific account. BUDDY LEVY: You're kidding.
- No. BUDDY LEVY: There's
one document? AMBER PARANICK: Right. BUDDY LEVY: That's remarkable. Well, I guess we're
going to need that one. AMBER PARANICK: Here. Follow me. You know, in my
experience, there are usually volumes written on
historical events like the laying of
the cornerstone. The fact that there was only
one single letter in this case was very suspicious to me. So this is the "City Gazette,"
printed November 15 of 1792. Whoa. There it is, a letter from
a gentleman in Philadelphia to his friend in Charleston,
dated October 20, 1792. From "a gentleman
in Philadelphia"-- that's interesting. It's a nameless gentleman. "On Saturday the
13th, the first stone was laid in the southwest corner
of the president's house." The southwest corner. Southwest corner--
not what we'd think. BUDDY LEVY: Oh, my word. OK, it looks to me
like after the ceremony they proceeded to partake in
16 different toasts, which-- whenever I've taken
16 shots, it's been hard for me to figure
out where things were. Do you know what happened
to the original letter? Somehow it resurfaced in 1946. Is there any explanation
for where it was in the intervening 150 years?
That's kind of [inaudible]. We're not sure what happened.
It is. This concerns me
because how do we even know that this letter,
written by a nameless author, is an actual account? We have no way of knowing. Hmm. BRAD MELTZER:
Here's what I think. When you write
something secretly, then there's got to be
some truth in there. There's something in
there that for some reason you don't want people to
know that you gave away. And that, to me, is one of
the most trusted sources of history. CHRISTINE MCKINLEY: Hey, Buddy. BUDDY LEVY: Hey, I just got back
from the Library of Congress, and it's really, really weird. In the entire
Library of Congress, there's one letter that
describes cornerstone ceremony. SCOTT ROLLE: What
do you mean, one? BUDDY LEVY: I don't
understand it. SCOTT ROLLE: What did it say? It says that the
cornerstone was laid in the southwest corner. CHRISTINE MCKINLEY:
But wait-- what? Yeah, it says in
the southwest corner. CHRISTINE MCKINLEY: And
that was intentional? Yeah. Do I know if the Masons
stole the cornerstone? Of course not. But I know what it looks like,
that the evidence is starting to mount against them. The Masons placed
the cornerstone in a strange location, and
then they barely speak about it or write about it for
more than 200 years. Several presidents, including
Harry Truman, a 33rd degree Mason himself,
have looked for it, and nobody's been able
to find this thing. What we need to find out now
is if the Masons have a reason to lie. Why would they steal
the cornerstone? Why would they hide it? And if so, what is that motive? The cornerstone of
the White House, the very first stone
laid in our capital, has been missing for
more than 215 years, and nobody knows where it is. And even though they
deny it, all signs seem to point to the ultra
secretive organization known as the Freemasons. This is where people
play the scary music. They say they're the likely
culprits that took it. The Masons, of course,
claim that they're innocent. But let's be clear. There are many people who
think just the opposite. [church bells ringing] I do take a critical view
of Masonry, definitely. The greater population
of Freemasonry, the average Mason
that you would meet, is probably a very
moral, upstanding member of the community. My real contention is with what
I would call the inner core of Freemasonry, so this
handful of elite adepts called the "inner
circle" or "inner cabal," and the inner
doctrines of Masonry that they intentionally hide
from the low level masons who haven't progressed
as far in the craft. What are they hiding? Their ultimate agenda,
which is the New World Order. This inner circle,
this inner cabal, want to ultimately
rule the world, and the people of the world
will be forced to conform to this belief system. And those who don't
conform will be killed. And you believe that's
what they believe? Well, I know that's what
they believe because I've read their writings. A lot of their books that
were reserved only for Masons have made their way
out into the public, and people scan them
onto the internet. So a lot of this
information is laid open for the public to
see, but most people don't go and seek it out. As well researched as Chris
Pinto's ideas seemed to be, I just did not buy it. I found it hard to believe that
my dad was mixed up with guys bent on world domination. Do you think it's
possible, then, based on everything you've told
us, that the Masons could have been responsible for the
disappearance of the White House cornerstone? Well, certainly, if there
was something inside the White House cornerstone,
those who were involved would see the cornerstone as
possibly some kind of talisman of power, if you will. SCOTT ROLLE: How far do you
think the inner circle are willing to go to
maintain their secrets? These are guys who have
sworn blood oaths to have their throats cut and to be
disemboweled before they reveal the secrets of their order,
and Freemasonry has a record of so carefully guarding their
secrets that they've even been willing to kill
people to protect them. Really? Yeah. Been willing to
kill people or-- Willing to kill people,
and they have killed people. - Is there an example of that?
- Sure. Probably the most
famous example of all is the case of Captain
William Morgan back in 1826. According to accounts
of that time, Morgan had been a Freemason, and
so he published their rituals for everyone to see. And so they kidnapped
him, and then they told him that
a council of Masons had determined that he needed
to die, and they murdered him. Do you think that
could happen again? I do believe that
that kind of thing continues to go on even today. BRAD MELTZER: There are some who
would write off Chris Pinto's suspicions as extreme,
and I'm one of them. But the only way we're
going to get to the truth is by talking to everyone. You have to listen to and
consider every theory, especially when you're
dealing with the Masons. They're a secret society. They keep secrets. That's what they do. The bottom line
is that the Masons don't want to talk to us. I know some people say that
but they don't really mean it. But the Masons don't
want to talk to anyone, and you know why? Because everybody burns them. Everyone blames them
for every bad thing that's happened in this world. But I'm going to do my best to
get behind the wall of secrecy that's been there for centuries. CHRISTINE MCKINLEY: All right. Oh! BUDDY LEVY: I've got to
hear about Mr. Pinto? What was this guy about?
- You want to start? CHRISTINE MCKINLEY: Yeah, well,
the most interesting thing to me is that there is a sane,
intelligent, well-researched guy sitting there, completely
sincerely telling us that the Masons are murderers. There's a New
World Order coming. I didn't think he said anything
that was truly credible. Oh, dear. Well, if this
organization believes this and they're responsible
for laying the White House cornerstone-- The organization
doesn't believe that! They absolutely
could be responsible for its disappearance. They put it there. Yeah, and then they take
it away so they can get it. That's true. They put it there and
later came and got it? I'm not saying
I was convinced. I'm just saying
that some of this stuff that he's talking
about, about an inner circle and an outer circle, I
thought made some sense. I really did. Scott, when the
guys at the airport come up and start giving
out pamphlets and converting people, Scott's
the first guy they go to because he has that--
[interposing voices] No, no, no, that's
not true at all. Listen, I knew McKinley was
having a great time busting my chops. But I knew, as an
attorney, that we needed to listen to what everybody
had to say before I drew a conclusion. I mean, if we discounted
what people like Chris Pinto had to say just because
we disagree with him, then we might have missed
something really important. Hey, Brad, what's up? BRAD MELTZER: This is an
unbelievable piece of news I just got. We have got permission
to actually go inside the headquarters of
Scottish Rite Freemasonry. Sweet. BRAD MELTZER: And not only that. They're actually bringing
out their top Masons to meet with you guys. They know the history
like nobody else. - Sweet, man.
- This is going to be good. BRAD MELTZER: This is
a once in a lifetime chance to ask them whatever
you want to ask them. OK, hey, we're on it, and
we're heading there now. CHRISTINE MCKINLEY:
Thanks, Brad. BRAD MELTZER: You have to
understand the Masons hide symbols in everything. And their official
headquarters, which is known as the House of
the Temple, is no exception. Started in 1911, it was
modeled on the Persian tomb of Mausolus, the
original mausoleum, which became one of the seven
wonders of the ancient world. It's got two giant
limestone Sphinxes that guard the entrance. They have human faces
but lion's bodies. And they represent two pillars
of Masonic belief-- wisdom and strength. The building itself
is a labyrinth of rooms and passageways. Symbols like the
two-headed eagle, which represents power over east
and west, decorate the walls. The biggest room is
known as the Temple Room. It's where the Supreme Council
convenes every two years to elect 33rd degree Masons. Just outside is the seat where
a guard is placed in the Tyler seat to protect against
non-Masons from entering. An inscription on
the back of a chair says, know thyself, which was
written on ancient temples. Albert Pike, the father
of modern day Masonry-- he's always close by
because he's entombed in one of the building's walls. BUDDY LEVY: Wow, I'm
psyched to be here. SCOTT ROLLE: It's amazing.
Look at this thing. This place is cool already. Look at all the Masons
in the space program. SCOTT ROLLE: John Glenn. CHRISTINE MCKINLEY: Buzz Aldrin. BUDDY LEVY: You guys ready? Oh, man. Look at that. Where do they get this stuff? CHRISTINE MCKINLEY: Signatures
of some of the Supreme Court justices the United
States who were Masons. BUDDY LEVY: Many
people with power at the origins of the country
appear to have been Masons. This is President Truman's. SCOTT ROLLE: The stone from
the wall of the White House. BUDDY LEVY: It's got
Masonic symbols on it. CHRISTINE MCKINLEY:
Can you see it? It actually has a
compass and a square. Taken from the walls.
It doesn't really say where. SCOTT ROLLE: I know. It doesn't. CHRISTINE MCKINLEY: Wait. Is this a piece of
the cornerstone? BRAD MELTZER: I had to call
in every favor I could, but I managed to get Buddy,
Mac, and Scott inside the House of the Temple. This is Freemason headquarters
in Washington, DC, and Mac just found
something that she thinks might be a piece of the
actual White House cornerstone. We have no idea what it is yet. But let me tell you when
it comes to the Masons, it will always be a good story. BUDDY LEVY: Unbelievable. SCOTT ROLLE: Stone from the
wall of the White House. CHRISTINE MCKINLEY: And I'm
really intrigued that there is a picture of a
cornerstone laying, and there's an actual
stone right under it. And you know, these are-- these are smart guys. Everything's done for a purpose. Maybe that's a piece
of the cornerstone. SCOTT ROLLE: It's right there.
CHRISTINE MCKINLEY: Hi, there. Hi. I'm Art de Hoyos. CHRISTINE MCKINLEY:
This piece of stone here is interesting to us. It is. That is actually
not "the" stone. It is a stone. It's one of the stones
that President Truman sent to the various Masonic grand
lodges throughout the country during the White
House reconstruction. What was unique about them
is that they had these Mason marks. Traditionally, Masons
would put a symbol on the stone that identified
them as the craftsman. Why don't we continue
the conversation? Have you been up
to the Temple Room? SCOTT ROLLE: We have not.
- Why don't we go up there? SCOTT ROLLE: That sounds good. I intended to
meet Brent Morris. I think we can
find him up here. Come on.
BUDDY LEVY: OK. All right.
Thanks a lot. [interposing voices] ARTURO DE HOYOS: Oh, Brent. Art. BUDDY LEVY: You're
the man I need to see. I'm here.
Come on up to the library. Appreciate it. So noticing all this
Egyptian symbols and statues and pictures--
what's that about? Well, Freemasonry is
an eclectic organization, so we've borrowed symbols
from all sorts of cultures. Look at these, Scott. They're crazy. It's like a serpent
with an Egyptian goddess face or something. It was amazing to me that
Masonic symbols like pyramids and triangles and
all seeing eyes were everywhere,
especially in Washington, and these held very special
meanings to the Masons who designed and built the city. So the pyramid is said to
represent the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the seven
wonders of the ancient world, and it's a nod to the
Masons' origins as builders. The triangle, with
its three even side, has been a sacred symbol
for thousands of years. But to Masons, it reminds
them of the three degrees of Masonry, the three
orders of architecture, and, for the Catholic
masons, obviously, the Father and the
Son and Holy Spirit. And all seeing eye is
the eye of Providence. It's the reminder to Masons
that the Supreme Being watches and judges his
words and actions. So once I knew
what to look for, I couldn't help seeing these on
buildings and corporate logos and even on the back
of the dollar bill. Oh my god. Oh my god. ARTURO DE HOYOS: This
is the Temple Room. SCOTT ROLLE: Very,
very impressive. ARTURO DE HOYOS: It's
awesome, isn't it? Wow.
ARTURO DE HOYOS: Yeah. Inner circles
and outer circles. I'm not seeing any
of that in here. Are you a member of the inner
circle or the outer circle? [laughs] Well, Freemasonry
has 33 degrees. You know, I wish I knew
the powers that I had, being a member of this,
because when I received the 33rd degree, I
found out that I still had to pay for HBO and Cinemax. [laughs]
You know, there was-- CHRISTINE MCKINLEY: That's
got to be disappointing. There were no great
benefits that went with that. I mean, it's simply
an honor, really. That's really what it is. SCOTT ROLLE: Now, we've heard
that the ultimate purpose of the Masons is to
take over the world. I mean, how do you
feel about that? ARTURO DE HOYOS:
I have read that. I'm the archivist and historian
of the Supreme Council. I have access to all of our
most important documents. In my experience, I've never
seen the kind of lunacy that I read about
on the internet. But there are some that
believe that cornerstones have some sort of magical power. ARTURO DE HOYOS: You mean
like supernatural power? SCOTT ROLLE: I guess. I mean, you have a
cornerstone here, right? All buildings
have a cornerstone. But in Freemasonry,
we see ourselves as a temple in the making. What we want to do is improve
and ennoble our character. What Freemasonry does is teach
you to become a better person in society. But not to take
over the world. No, not to take
over the world. BUDDY LEVY: I
wondered if you could talk a little bit about
the cornerstone ceremony at the White House. Sure, the stone is being
put in before the building's erected. They dug a foundation. It is lowered into
place ceremonially instead of just picking it up
and chucking it in the corner. So it's probably below grade. No one can see it. And how big is this stone
we're talking about here? Couple of-- couple of
feet deep, 3 or 4 feet wide, 5 or 6-- you want a
large, substantial stone. In the museum, we saw a stone
that was part of the Truman renovation. Yes. And Truman is a
high ranking Mason? Truman was Grand Master
of Masons in Missouri. Grand Master. Well, there's some fascinating
photographs from when the renovation was going on
of the gutted White House, with bulldozers inside
moving soil and scaffolding. Amazing. I would to see some of
those images if I could. Our library is open to you. Our library is open
to any researcher. Come on in, and I'll show you. Thanks. So why do you think
people pick on the Masons? I think that
people need somebody to blame for the tragedies
that we see in life. And because Freemasonry has
been around a long time, we've got to be the bad guys. Arturo, isn't it, in part,
because of the secrecy? Why, again, does everything
have to be secret? Sharing secrets or
sharing confidences builds stronger relationships. You know that there's someone
that has made a promise that he won't betray you or
his fellow Masons. But what happens
if somebody does? What do you have to say about
the Captain Morgan affair? I mean, wasn't somebody killed
because they gave the Mason's secrets away? Possibly so. William Morgan never really
became a Mason, as best we can tell. He had tricked his way into a
Masonic lodge in upstate New York. And there were six
people, I think, who served time in prison. I personally think that
these guys were taken over by their zeal, you know? It wasn't sanctioned
by Freemasonry anyway. These were a group of people
that did something stupid. Who happened to be Masons. Who happened to be Masons. That's right. Bulldozing basement
of the White House. Harry Truman rips apart
the walls of the White House. The guy tears everything apart. They bring him minesweepers. They bring in different
things to find it. This little "beep
beep, beep" goes off. And then he says,
yeah, you know what? Forget about it.
Let's not look here anymore. Wait, wait, wait, go back. What do you mean,
don't look here? I want to know what's there. I want to know where it
is, if it's in there. I want to know what's in it. I want to know if George
Washington's frozen head is inside. Tell me what's
inside this thing. And that's a good mystery,
and I want to know the answer. Hey. Got something good, huh? This is really good. [laughs] Well, just check this out. These are the Truman
renovations of the White House. This is the White House? It's completely gutted. BUDDY LEVY: Look how deep
down into the foundation of the White House they are. SCOTT ROLLE: Amazing. Minesweep goes through,
and they get a ping. It looks to me like Truman
found the cornerstone, and Truman stops the renovation. BRAD MELTZER: We're inside
Freemason headquarters, and we're searching for
the missing cornerstone of the White House. Do I know that the cornerstone
was stolen for sure? No. Can I say for sure
that the Masons are the ones who took it? Absolutely not. But it is starting to
look like President Harry Truman-- coincidentally--
this is perfect. A 33rd degree Mason himself-- may have known more
than anyone suspected. These are the Truman
renovations of the White House-- 1952, four years of digging,
looking for the cornerstone. Truman stops the renovation. Subsequently, Truman sends
stones to all the lodges, the grand lodges in
the United States, stones with Masonic
markings on them. I think something was found. Guys, you know, I don't want
to blow holes in your theory, but I got to blow
holes in the theory. There's no evidence. There's no records
that we have that shows that Truman found it. Yes, he was a 33rd degree Mason,
but I don't believe that they found the cornerstone. What I think that those
stones that he found were simply stones with
Mason's marks on them and that he shared the
stones with the members of the grand lodges. He gave one to us. I really don't believe that
this is the cornerstone. CHRISTINE MCKINLEY: What would
he do with it if he found it? Had he discovered it, I
imagine he would have made it a big to-do about it. There would have been
some kind of fanfare. If you believe the
anti-Mason sentiment, this cornerstone and all
cornerstones had some sort of empowerment of the building. And if they took
it upon themselves, they could have
empowerment for themselves. How do we know?
You're telling us one thing. This might be telling
us something else. Well, I mean, people are
going to believe what they want to believe, but I don't
believe that a piece of rock has some kind of
magical powers about it. This was a stone that had
ceremonial significance. It was the foundation
of this building. And I just cannot believe
that the president, Mason or otherwise, would have
concealed something like this. Brent, we're talking
about Truman. Buddy suggests that
Truman concealed the fact that he discovered this stone. Why would you want to do
that and not advertise it to the world that you found it? You would want to brag about it. But if your
organization is sworn to secrecy, or you take
an oath of secrecy-- - Right.
- Right. You're not going to tell us. Brent and I will both admit
that we've taken degrees in Masonry that have
information that we can't share, but that's not one of them. I mean, I'm sorry, guys. I just don't buy it. When we were upstairs,
we have that discussion about the Morgan affair. If I'm going to admit to
a Masonic murder, per se, don't you think I'd tell
you about some rock? I mean, we'd be happy to
pull it out and parade it. Where would you go? To find the cornerstone
of the White House? Or what happened to it? It's probably still
down in the basement underneath many feet
of stonework above it, supporting the White House. But you know, that's
not the only cornerstone that's missing. CHRISTINE MCKINLEY: What
other cornerstone is missing? That's the Capitol.
They don't know where it is. You're killing me. Really? George Washington presided
over the ceremony as a Mason. SCOTT ROLLE: And they
can't find that one either? Can't find that one either. Back for the
bicentennial in 1992, Jackson Polk was a
television producer doing independent research,
frantically looking for the lost cornerstone. All right. CHRISTINE MCKINLEY:
I believe them. Those guys don't look like
they're hiding anything. After the pictures,
I thought I had it, and then I started to come
around to their arguments. Their arguments were iron clad. That's the problem. CHRISTINE MCKINLEY: As an
attorney, when you talked to those two guys, did
you get a sense of, these guys are
telling the truth? Or did you get a sense of,
ah, I don't know [inaudible].. Well, here's exactly
what I thought. They came across
as very believable. And I wanted to believe
them, and I wanted to trust. But I still got the feeling
that we weren't hearing it all. CHRISTINE MCKINLEY: Look at
all the memorabilia in there. They saved these things. They showed them off. They're proud of being Masons. They're proud of what
these stones represent. If they found them,
they might be the ones who wanted to advertise them. So now, not only do we
find out that the White House cornerstone's missing, but
now the Capitol cornerstone is missing, too? That's crazy to me,
and the only way we're going to find
an answer is we're going to have to find
out what's the connection between these two. CHRISTINE MCKINLEY: So what
I haven't answered for myself here is really how big,
how heavy is this thing, how easy or difficult
is it to spirit away. We're talking
about a big stone. I've asked everyone, and no
one can give me a precise size. The best estimate
I've been given is 2 feet high, 6 feet long,
and then probably 2 feet-- So 24 feet cubed. We think it's made of some
kind of building stone. So let's say granite. How about granite? Yeah, granite is 150
pounds per feet cubed. Check it out. Just for the stone-- and this is without the brass
plate or anything else-- 3,600 pounds. Are you kidding me? That's about the
weight of a car. There's no way
one or two people or three people carried this
thing away from the White House. BUDDY LEVY: Well, you
drag the thing along, and it's going to leave a
giant scar on the ground. To wherever you're going. There's no way that
it was pulled away-- That's what I'm saying. The evidence is
starting to mount, based on the size of this
thing and the weight of it, that it didn't move off
the White House grounds. It's going to be like, how do
you take that away with no one noticing?
- But then it's still there. Where is it?
And why can't we find it? So now I'm thinking,
is it possible that the White House cornerstone
was actually deliberately hidden, that it
was never stolen? That actually makes sense to me. Think about it. America was a brand new country. We'd just defeated the
most powerful military the world had ever seen. They had to be counting the
days until the British returned to take back what
was once theirs. So maybe at this exact
moment, the bad guys are actually the good guys. Maybe the Masons put the
cornerstone where nobody would ever find it, with the brass
plaque hidden under the stone. Now, if Buddy can get to the
bottom of the Capitol's missing cornerstone, we may
finally be able to put this 200-year-old
question to rest. Here's the thing. The more we discover about
the White House cornerstone, the more it makes sense that
the Masons hid the stone rather than stole it. Now, Buddy's about to meet an
expert on the missing Capitol cornerstone. And if he can get to the
bottom of what happened at the Capitol, it may shed some
light on what really happened at the White House. The iconic US Capitol was
anything but when it was first built on Jenkins
Hill overlooking the swampy new city. George Washington himself
laid the original cornerstone during a Masonic
ceremony back in 1793. But it was founding
father Thomas Jefferson who insisted on calling
the home of Congress the Capitol because
it literally meant, in Latin, "city on a hill." A crypt was built to hold
the remains of President Washington's body below
the floor of the rotunda. That's where he was
supposed to be buried. But when his will stated that
he'd be buried in Mount Vernon, it was left vacant. Until recently, they used to
keep the catafalque down there. It's a platform that holds
the coffin during a funeral. And it held everyone from
Lincoln's to JFK's to Ronald Reagan's bodies. There's a steep metal
staircase in the capital which leads to a walkway on
top of the actual dome. The 365 steps inside obviously
represent the days of a given year. But the best part of
the Capitol is the part you can't see on the tour. When the building
was first built, there was no air conditioning. So they used to have to pump
air in through underground passageways. I've been down there, crawling
in these underground chambers, and they are amazing. BUDDY LEVY: What
we're hoping to do is find out about the
Capitol cornerstone and then relate it to the
White House cornerstone and see if we can
draw any conclusions. The Capitol cornerstone--
it was the cornerstone of democracy, literally. The cornerstone of the United
States Capitol-- the original was missing. In 1988, for the 200th
anniversary of the stone, the architect of the Capitol
decided, OK, let's find it definitively for sure. Unbeknownst to him, there had
already been a dig going on in the Senate.
- Really? A fellow who had
the keys on his belt to all the doors,
an air conditioning mechanic for the US Senate
named Charlie Scala-- Charlie had been
digging for months. You mean independently
of anyone else? All right. Here's Charlie Scala. Charlie did not have
official permission to do this when he started. He just did it
because he thought it would be a good idea. I love this guy going rogue. Did he get in any
kind of trouble for this independent dig? JACKSON POLK: He could
have and maybe should have but did not because he
befriended several United States senators
who were Freemasons and understood
what he was doing. You got to be kidding me.
JACKSON POLK: No, no, no. And when it came up as a
problem in one of the meetings, they encouraged the
architect of the Capitol to not only leave the guy
alone but help him find it. The two men who encouraged him
to look further for this thing were Masons. And-- and senators
at the same time. BUDDY LEVY: Why didn't
they find it, do you think? JACKSON POLK: The
architect of the Capitol initially started the
search for the cornerstone. But then he said, oh, well
we've looked in the Senate long enough. Politically, now we have to go
look over in the House side. BUDDY LEVY: Unbelievable. JACKSON POLK: They dug all
under this southeast corner of the House wing
and found nothing. BUDDY LEVY: OK, OK, so I'm-- I'm confused, and I'm
trying to get this straight. Where do Masons usually
place a cornerstone? These days, in the northeast
corner of a building. These days. The northeast corner became
important for cornerstones, apparently, in the early
1800s after the White House and the Capitol were built. OK. Where do you think it is? It's about 8 or 10 feet away
from where Charlie is standing right there in that picture. Was he right there at the
time that he was then taken off of the project? Yes, which
frustrated all of us, because it was within 8 or 10
feet of finding the original US Capitol cornerstone when
the architect of the Capitol called off the dig in
the Senate and said, oh, now we have to
move to the House. And that was all politics. Now, honestly, I would think
finding the cornerstone would be a good idea. What if-- what if they put
something in the cornerstone that we can read now? What if they had a
different constitution? Thomas Jefferson wasn't in
the Constitutional Convention. He didn't get along
with those guys, but they took his information. What if, out of that, they wrote
a different document that maybe turned America from an agrarian
society to an urban society? We're now an urban society. Wouldn't it be great to
find that document now? And some people have
speculated that that may be what's in there. When Jackson
mentioned the idea of an alternate constitution
inside the Capitol cornerstone, I was blown away. I mean, our entire legal
and political system are based on the Constitution. How could we possibly
have a more perfect union than the one we have now? But as long as we can't find
the Capitol cornerstone, we're never going to know. Do you think that there's any
connection between the missing Capitol cornerstone and
the missing White House cornerstone? Only that they're missing. I mean, there's no
symbolism issue here. Or there's no relationship? Well, no, I don't think
it's a Masonic conspiracy of some kind. I think they just
frickin' lost it. [laughs] Yeah, I bet. BUDDY LEVY: What
a hell of a ride. I feel like that was a crash
course in American history. Yeah, no kidding. So what do you think? Well, I think that we've
been looking for something that is exactly where it's supposed
to be in the first place. I began this quest searching the
historical record of the White House cornerstone. And there was so little
written about it, I was really suspicious. Then I saw that Washington
wasn't even at the laying of the White House cornerstone. He believed that the Capitol
cornerstone was a much bigger deal. So yeah, there was a ceremonial
Masonic laying of the White House cornerstone, but there
was less written about it. And not only that. It turns out that those
traditions about where Masons would lay cornerstones
in a ceremony didn't happen until after both
the White House and the Capitol cornerstones were laid. And that's why I don't think
the White House cornerstone is missing in the traditional
sense that it's gone. Look, we knew it didn't get
up and walk away on its own, but I just didn't think there
was enough evidence there that it had been stolen. I learned from my
interview with Jackson Polk that the cornerstone
was structural. It was functional. If the cornerstone
was truly structural and Truman had
decided to get it out, he would have had to dig out
not only the inside of the White House but a ton of soil on the
outside of the White House. It would've been a huge,
expensive, messy project, and it would have endangered
the structural integrity of the White House. So I believe it's still there. It's the simplest explanation. SCOTT ROLLE: It
is, which sometimes is the right explanation. When we first
started this journey, the most important thing to me
was to find that cornerstone, to put an end to the
questions that some of the most powerful
people in America have asked for over 200 years. I now believe the
cornerstone is still on the grounds of
the White House, just where it was in 1792, and
I don't believe the Masons ever stole it. But there's something
far more important. If we had found the cornerstone
and put it on display, it's just a rock under glass
like any other museum piece. It loses all of
its symbolic power. But because the White
House cornerstone is still, for all intents and
purposes, missing, it retains its
power as a symbol, and it keeps us wondering,
thinking, and searching.
