ABC: Did Lack of Insurance Drive Hillary Hostage-Taker to Crime?

Photo of Scott Whitlock.
  • Bookmark and Share

Did the New Hampshire man who took several Hillary Clinton staffers hostage on Friday do so because of a lack of health insurance? That's what "Good Morning America" reporter David Kerley seemed to imply during a segment on Monday's show. First, he pointed out that the individual, Leeland Eisenberg, was turned away from a mental health support due to a lack of "money or insurance."

Then, after playing a clip of a Clinton campaign ad in which a man lauds the New York senator for helping to save his son's life by absorbing medical costs, Kerley revealed that Eisenberg targeted Clinton "because he saw this Clinton ad in which a New Hampshire supporter says the candidate helped him get health insurance." Kerley closed the segment by observing that the hostage-taker stormed the office and demanded to see Senator Clinton. The GMA correspondent intoned, "That didn't happen, but he may finally get the help he was pleading for."

Story Continues Below Ad ↓

Co-host Diane Sawyer, interviewing the family of Mr. Eisenberg, appeared to be making a similar point. She asked the suspect's son, Ben Warren, this question about the root causes of the crime:

DIANE SAWYER: Ben, as we know, he's now facing serious felony charges, your step-dad, but there was a history. He was turned away by local hospitals, turned away by a psychiatrist, unable to get his medicine. You said this was an act of desperation. What kind of desperation do you see?

A transcript of the segments, which aired at 7:32am on December 3, follow:

SAWYER: First, we do want to go to the stunned family that is coming forward today, the family of the man who took those hostages at Hillary Clinton's campaign offices. As you know, he had strapped to his chest a fake bomb made of road flairs. Let's begin all of this though with David Kerley who has the very latest on all of it, this morning.

DAVID KERLEY: Peeling off his fake bomb, Leeland Eisenberg was no stranger to police. On this very day, he was supposed to be in court on a domestic dispute charge.

KITTY CARLSON (Suspect's neighbor) I told her if she got in trouble in the middle of the night with him, bang on my door. Someone would let her in.

KERLEY: Three days earlier, his wife filed for divorce against the out of work 47-year-old. His family says he was trying to get help for a drinking problem.

CECIL PLAISTED (Suspect's neighbor): When he's not drinking, he's the nicest guy you can meet. He doesn't bother anyone. But when he's drinking, he's altogether different.

KERLEY: Early last week, the family says Eisenberg, seeking mental health help, was turned away from a local hospital because he had no money or insurance. Here in Rochester, Barack Obama's offices are just a couple doors down from Hillary Clinton's, so why did Eisenberg target Clinton?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN [Brief clip of Hillary Clinton ad]: We called Senator Clinton and asked for help.

KERLEY: ABC News has learned it was because he saw this Clinton ad in which a New Hampshire supporter says the candidate helped him get health insurance.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN [From ad again]: I trusted this woman to save my son's life. And she did.

KERLEY: Eisenberg told a family member he was going to do something to get in the hospital. The next day, he walked into Clinton's office wearing what he said was a bomb, demanding to speak to the senator. That didn't happen, but he may finally get the help he was pleading for. David Kerley, ABC News, Rochester, New Hampshire.

DIANE SAWYER: And by the way, his family offered to go in and try to help defuse the situation, and now in a GMA exclusive, Lee Eisenberg's wife, Lisa, his step-children, Ben and Erin Warren. And we talk to them in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Ben, Lisa, Erin, thank you for being with us. I know this was a hard decision for you. And good morning to all of you.

ALL: Good morning.

SAWYER: Tell me, Ben, did you turn on the TV? Did someone tell you what was going on? How did you first know that your step-dad was involved in this?

BEN WARREN (Hostage taker's stepson): Well, we were in superior court and a bailiff came and told us said that they needed to go to Rochester to the scene where they had the emergency vehicles set up and stuff.

SAWYER: And when you were watching the scenes on the television, did you think at any point that he might really be going to hurt someone?

BEN WARREN: I didn't know, but I'm sure everybody else did.

SAWYER: Let me get a sense of that morning because I know that he had been drinking the night before. And as you're getting ready to leave, a couple of things, you knew a couple of things. That he was saying he wanted to get help. He was going to do something big to get help. What did that mean to you?

BEN WARREN: I honestly at the time, I didn't really pay it much attention 'cause, you know, he had been drinking all night. I wasn't really, you know -- I didn't really think there was much validity to it. But he -- I don't know. I figured if anything, it would be some kind of suicide attempt where somebody would see it so he would get attention and get some help. I didn't think it would be anything quite this extreme.

SAWYER: He had a message for your mom?

BEN WARREN: He told me to make sure I told her that he loved her and that it wasn't her fault.

SAWYER: When we read about his history, that he had said that he was sexually abused by a priest at one point, had a settlement, in fact, from the church. His mother died young, his father alcoholic and abusive. What was he like to live with? What was the difference on medication and off medication?

LISA WARREN: When he was on his medication, He was always making me laugh. He spoiled me. It was -- it was perfect in my eyes. But without the medication, and the use of the alcohol, he turned into a different person.

SAWYER: Did you see that video of him coming out, dropping to his knees, surrendering?

ERIN WARREN: Yes.

SAWYER: And in that moment, what did you say to each other?

ERIN WARREN: We just -- we really didn't say anything. It was just relief, I think, for all of us.

SAWYER: Ben, as we know, he's now facing serious felony charges, your step-dad, but there was a history. He was turned away by local hospitals, turned away by a psychiatrist, unable to get his medicine. You said this was an act of desperation. What kind of desperation do you see?

BEN WARREN: You know, what I remember most is he kept expressing that he was wanting help, he was wanting help with his problem and that he wasn't able to get it because he didn't have insurance and he didn't have money. And it was an act of desperation, to try to get help.

SAWYER: Lisa-- And Lisa, a final word from you to him, to the man you married.

LISA WARREN: Just that, I still -- I still love him. I'm still here, and I wish there was something I could have done, and that I'm sorry for -- that it ended up this way.

SAWYER: Again, I do know how difficult this decision was to come forward, the three of you, and we thank you so much.

LISA WARREN: Thank you.

—Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center.


Comments Policy

All comments are owned by whoever posted them and are subject to our terms of use. They should not be assumed to represent the views of NewsBusters.

Viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

The guy couldn't afford

The guy couldn't afford medical care?  Gee, I thought the familia Clintoni paid their operatives better than that...

I heard sometime

today that this guy also won a good $$ settlement from the Boston diocese for supposedly being molested by a priest when he was 21!!!  So much for not having any money.  He was just a nut looking for some face time on tv - he called CNN 3 times????  Of course after the last couple of debates, he knew which network to contact for getting in touch with HRC ;-)

Just think, if Hillarycare gets passed, we hardworking taxpayers will be paying for the care of a multitude of jerks such as this one!

VOTE REPUBLICAN - whoever gets the final nod!  Please don't stay home - that is the only way the Democrats will win.

Well, we all knew it

Well, we all knew it wouldn't take long to blame Bush for
this. Maybe the "guy" (hillary plant), should go to Cuba where
they have better health care then we do.

mom

No shame

The left has no shame. They turn a crazy loon's rantings into points for Hillary.

And, as AP

put it, didn't HRC appear 'regal' in her press conference?!?

BARF!!!

Un-frickin' believable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...

My lack of money doesn't

My lack of money doesn't lead me into robbing banks.

Nor, does my dislike for some lead me to murder.

Also, my disgust with liberals doesn't lead me to violence.

Some of us work a little harder, others well, just check out your MSM.

 

Well, for once, the rich white man is in control. --Montgomery Burns

I noticed they left this part out.

Via Michelle Malkin

http://michellemalkin.com/2007/12/03/laxachusetts-and-the-criminal-revolving-door/

Executive Office of Public Safety spokesman Terrill Walker told me Eisenberg walked out of MCI-Concord in March 2005 after serving his entire 10-to-20-year sentence. 

Victory in Iraq.

 

and, after he walked out

of that institution, he was picked up for more crimes...but of course, in this liberal world they call Massachusetts, a judge told him to go home and not do that anymore...so he just moved to New Hampshire!  Reminds me of the judge who told the recent Washington state murderer to "go home and be a good boy (right! after all, he only murdered his own mother with repeated stabbings) and report to the probation officer" - of course, he obeyed her order...NOT 

Instead he immediately headed west, only to commit even more heinous murders within months! 

I wonder if the families of the murdered couple will sue the state of Massachusetts for negligence and the judge for being an accessory before the fact of murder. 

Oh, and lest you are left wondering, no, the negligent judge has not resigned.

"These are just road flares!"

"Road flares? Did you live under power lines as a kid or something?"

"Ha ha ha... why?"

LOL! Brilliant! "There

LOL! Brilliant!

"There are millions of people in Iraq who have sacrificed in the hope that the United States will finish its work here. We should never forget that." -- Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, Commander U.S. III Corps

I was thinking

a few people would catch that reference

Exploiting people

First reports are always wrong, and that's even more true when it comes to public stunts like this one. There's always more to the story than first appears.

But even so, let's take for granted that this guy really is a suffering mental patient. The media's pure exploitation of this poor guy is offensive. They exploited him to make Hillary look presidential, and now they're exploiting him to make a point about healthcare. They're using him. That's sad.

Duck Tape

Anybody who didn’t see this coming needs to take off the blinders.  All weekend the MSM has played Hillary up as presidential in the whole thing.  I am so annoyed.

WAS SHE THERE?

DID SEE TALK THE GUY OUT?

Someone get me some duck tape, I’m about to have a Glen Beck moment.

The only thing you should feel when shooting insurgents is the rifle recoil.

 

Firstly, why didn't Sawyer

Firstly, why didn't Sawyer ask of of those family members she interviewed why none of them were able to pay for the meds this guy so desperately needed? Why is this not a factor?

Secondly, if this guy KNEW he was crazy, and needed medication, then why did he pull an obviously crazy stunt to get attention?

There is a huge difference between being crazy and being stupid. But I guess when it comes to liberals, the distinction is a bit more fuzzy.

On a side note, is it just

On a side note, is it just me, or does that reporter in the picture look alot like the "Breck Girl", Johnny Edwards?

Back on topic.. in related stories..

"Exorbenent Taxation Leads to String of Bank Robberies"

"Paltry Return on Social Security Investments Causes Man to Go On Shooting Spree"

"Visions of Helen Thomas Cause Man To Gouge His Own Eyes Out"

"Global Warming Scare Tactics Cause Mass Suicides"

When asked if he went to war with Iraq to derail the impeachment vote: “I don’t think any serious person would believe that any President would do such a thing." - President Clinton (Dec 1998).

Turned away? Not

Turned away? Not likely.

All he had to do was walk into any emergency room and say "I've been feeling like I might kill myself" and he would have been taken care of.

PS does that reporter in the picture look alot like the "Breck Girl", Johnny Edwards?

I thought the same thing.

Good grief. I just checked

Good grief. I just checked the name...

 EISENBERG, LEE MR, DNC SERVICES CORPORATION/DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE (D)

Check out my exclusive edit of BBC News America's interview with Mrs Clinton: It's news to me!

Jack.....

Are you joking???

mb -- No. I just checked it

mb -- No. I just checked it on www.newsmeat, which lists all political donors!

I'm sure it's a different one... but it's hardly a common name. So, quite amusing.

Check out my exclusive edit of BBC News America's interview with Mrs Clinton: It's news to me!

I will have to check it out

I will have to check it out on the FEC where you can get the actual address this guy comes from , but my first thoughts are simple name collision.

If he was a Republican/bombing a Repub office

Given this name co-incidnece, the MSM would publish the news for 3 days before they would casually retract it as a Name co-incidence. 

The Lies would be spread ASAP......

It is a remarkable

It is a remarkable coincidence that you'd think ANY curious journalist would love to follow up. If only on a human interest angle.

Check out my exclusive edit of BBC News America's interview with Mrs Clinton: It's news to me!

Hey Jack... I have tried

Hey Jack...

I have tried your link a couple of times and it doesn't work.

Is this really serious or were you just joking?

Because if it is I have a hard time believing nobody else has not done the same in the msm let alone the politicians....what I should say is somebody already has and is keeping it mighty quiet.

 

BT -- nope, not kidding. I

BT -- nope, not kidding. I only did it to see if the guy was a Clinton campaign worker and that's what popped up.

It's www.newsmeat.com . I forgot to put the .com in the other post.

Check out my exclusive edit of BBC News America's interview with Mrs Clinton: It's news to me!

Thanks Jack... I like

Thanks Jack...

I like that site...saved it to look more in depth at later.

This is all interesting indeed.

JT

Naaahhh.... you think so?

:p

 

Dana Perino and Newsbusters gals* will look great in Shywear!

(*shirts for guys, too)

News Media diagnosis from afar: Lack of insurance.

My off-the-cuff "internet" diagnosis from afar: Lack of lithium.
JMR

Rally online with fans of Dr. Ron Paul.

Free Eisenberg

He only used road flares and now the media informs us this was an impassioned cry for help. If only we had known. It would be the loving thing to  find him a friend, adjust his medications, pay his bills, make sure he has quality booze and let him go with a dozen lotto tickets. He obviously didn't mean to hurt anyone.

anyone question if this was a publicity stunt

nothing happened with this guy, could it have all been staged. i mean i'm sure hillary wouldn't approve of anything unethical, like having people in the crowds at debates throw out scripted questions, again and again, or have a retired general plant in the oppositions deebates. nnnnnnooooooooooo this could have in no way been staged.

now that's a plausible conspiracy, unlike the ridiculous idiots who say 911 was all the plan of that dummy bush, the evil retarded genius stooopid mastermind.

lunaticcringeradio

"You know, what I remember

"You know, what I remember most is he kept expressing that he was
wanting help, he was wanting help with his problem and that he wasn't
able to get it because he didn't have insurance and he didn't have
money. And it was an act of desperation, to try to get help."

Interesting. Soooo, he could afford his liquid medicine(alcohol), but he couldn't afford the medicine prescribed for his mental health?

Typical.

GMA got it right!

Who better to understand the mind(s) of the dangerously mentally ill than alleged 'news' people?

Aren't they family?

Seriously, I've come to the valid conclusion that most 'news' anchors are probably the most mis-informed, gullable people on the planet.  Completely worthless and a detriment to civil society as a whole.  I no longer consume their product, and probably never will.  There is nothing they report that I wouldn't have to investigate myself to obtain the truth.  So what's the point of watching/reading anything they produce?

 

To know and not do, is to not yet know

I am just soooooooooo glad

I am just soooooooooo glad that Shrillary was able to defuse the situation all on her own all the way in D.C. Her being in contact with the families was such a valuable asset. <BARF>