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Ottawa lawyer David Bertschi has launched legal action against three top advisers to Liberal leader Justin Trudeau after his approval to seek the party’s nomination as a federal candidate was revoked.

Mr. Bertschi filed a claim against Liberal campaign co-chairs Katie Telford and Dan Gagnier and the party’s national director, Jeremy Broadhurst, alleging they defamed him over a contentious nomination fight in the riding of Ottawa-Orléans.

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He had sought the nomination as Liberal candidate in the riding and was initially approved by the party’s “green light” committee. But Ms. Telford and Mr. Gagnier later rescinded their approval, citing unpaid debts that lingered from his long-shot bid for the Liberal leadership and another defamation action involving a U.S. gossip website that, they claimed, he hadn’t disclosed.

With Mr. Bertschi knocked out of the race, Trudeau adviser and former Canadian Forces general Andrew Leslie was acclaimed as the candidate.