Rove "Scoop" Remains Exclusive

"Newly unsealed documents in billionaire Ron Burkle's divorce include allegations by his former wife that he spied on her, their young son and her boyfriend," says the AP .

"The documents, released late Friday, also included a declaration from Burkle's 29-year-old daughter that her father once told her his security staff had videos of wife Janet Burkle and her boyfriend having sex.

"Burkle's attorney, Patricia L. Glaser, disputed the allegations in a letter to the Los Angeles Times. 'Mr. Burkle never told his daughter any such thing,' Glaser said. 'There are no such videotapes. There was no such eavesdropping. This is not true.'

"The declaration came in support of Janet Burkle's 2003 application for a court restraining order, which was denied. The allegations were withdrawn and the divorce court judge ruled they were inadmissible, Glaser said."

If Adam Nagourney and Dan Balz agree on something--such as that the Republicans will have trouble holding the House--it must be true.

Here's Nagourney's NYT piece:

"For months, even in the face of an avalanche of bad news for Republicans, Democratic ambitions for capturing Congress have collided with an electoral map created to protect Republicans from ouster. Despite polls showing rising support for Democrats and scorn for Republicans, analysts have said Democratic hopes for big gains remain remote, because so few seats are in contention.

"That appears to be changing.

"Over the past week, a handful of once-safe Republican Congressional seats have come into play, and other Republican incumbents are facing increasingly stiff re-election battles, according to analysts, pollsters and officials in both parties. The change amounts to a slight but significant shift in the playing field, and a potentially pivotal change in the dynamics of this midterm election."

And here's the WashPost piece by Balz and Michael Shear:

"With approval ratings for Bush and congressional Republicans at a low ebb, GOP strategists see signs of weakness where they least expected it -- including a conservative, military-dominated suburb such as Virginia Beach -- and fear that their problems could grow worse unless the national mood brightens.

"Some veterans of the 1994 GOP takeover of Congress see worrisome parallels between then and now, in the way once-safe districts are turning into potential problems. Incumbents' poll numbers have softened. Margins against their Democratic opponents have narrowed. Republican voters appear disenchanted. The Bush effect now amounts to a drag of five percentage points or more in many districts."