The New York Daily News is a great source for alarming but unattributed media gossip. For example:

Michael Moore's Bush-whacking documentary, "Fahrenheit 9/11," could become a campaign issue.

We hear that Republican officials plan to complain to the Federal Election Commission that Miramax honchos Harvey and Bob Weinstein have violated campaign-finance laws by bankrolling Moore's film, according to one well-placed GOP source.

"This is a blatant political ad in the guise of a documentary," says the source. "It's totally in contravention of the McCain-Feingold [soft-money ban]."

An FEC spokesman said he had no record of complaints from the Republican National Committee or the Bush-Cheney campaign about Moore's film.

Reps for both organizations denied filing protests.

"The GOP doesn't want this to leak right now," says our source. "It's only going to give Moore more publicity."

Moore spokesman Howard Wolfson said he hadn't heard of a GOP gripe to the FEC, but "it wouldn't surprise me."

I'm halfway inclined to believe that this is some Democrat's wishful thinking, because it's hard to see how this could possibly work to the GOP's benefit. It seems pretty clear that if you pay to see a movie, it isn't an advertisement. (Nope, not even New York Minute.)