Thank you for your quick replies. It looks like the issue is tied to the particular machine I am using. The method I use to try and hide the leader is to right click the text and then select entity properties. From that dialog box I then change the leader from pushpin to hidden. When I select that the entire text object disappears. It also does not look hidden as I have tried using Edit->Unhide->All and also View->hidden geometry.
Another interesting point is that I am using an add-in call Comp2Scene/Layer. This add-in is able to create a text object with an invisible leader! I also noticed that if I create a leadered text object and then delete the object I can hide the leader without affecting the text part.