In the latest eruption of a prolonged and unprecedented public battle, Police Chief Bill Blair says he might sue Councillor Doug Ford over Ford’s suggestion that the chief gave the Star information about the looming subpoena of Mayor Rob Ford.

“Doug Ford is lying, and I am prepared to take legal action,” Blair said through police spokesman Mark Pugash on Friday.

The dispute between the chief and the mayor his detectives continue to investigate has raged since November. Blair has been far more restrained than the Fords, but he has demonstrated an occasional willingness to respond forcefully to their efforts to tar him as a vendetta-driven scofflaw.

The Star reported Friday that police are planning to subpoena the mayor as a possible witness in the extortion trial of Alexander “Sandro” Lisi. Lisi is accused of using threats to try to obtain the video in which Ford appears to smoke crack cocaine.

Subpoenas are court documents and various officials in the courts and law enforcement are aware of their existence.

Speaking to reporters later in the day, Doug Ford said, “When you have the leadership of the police department releasing a subpoena to the media before they release it to the mayor, you wonder why we need a change at the top?”

The Toronto Police Services Board announced Wednesday that Blair’s contract would not be extended past April of next year. Both Fords have been highly critical of Blair since Oct. 31, when the chief confirmed the existence of the famous video and said he was “disappointed.”

“It’s a little payback,” Doug Ford continued. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. So it’s disappointing again that the police chief, in my opinion, would condone this behaviour from his own department.”

As he ended the scrum outside the mayor’s office, he added: “I got an idea. Maybe the chief should just let the Toronto Star serve him. Because God knows, they’ve got a direct line to the chief.”

Doug Ford, who is the campaign manager and chief spokesman for his brother, offered no evidence that Blair provided the information to the Star. In a subsequent interview, he said he was merely expressing an opinion.

“I said numerous times, that’s my opinion. I’m entitled to my opinion,” Ford told the Star. “And maybe you could find out where the Toronto Star got the leaked information. And maybe the Toronto Star could be transparent and come out and tell the truth. OK? That’s all my comment is.”

Blair had been opposed by the board’s three city councillors, all of them right-leaning veterans allied with Ford before the crack scandal. But police board chair Alok Mukherjee said the decision to deny Blair a contract extension had nothing do with Ford, and two of the councillors, Mike Del Grande and Michael Thompson, have been highly critical of Ford’s conduct.

Blair launched an investigation into the mayor’s activities last May, when the Star and the U.S. website Gawker wrote about the apparent crack video. The Fords had only praise for Blair until the scandal. They have since embarked on a campaign against his reputation.

Doug Ford has alleged on multiple occasions, without evidence, that Blair is engaged in a conspiracy to oust the mayor in favour of rival John Tory. Since November, he has called for Blair’s resignation, accused him of being “the most political chief” in the history of the city, and filed a formal complaint against him with the Office of the Independent Police Review Director.

Blair initially declined to engage: “We don’t respond to personal attacks,” Pugash said in November. The chief later decided to fight back.

The mayor was caught on tape in January referring to Blair as a “c---sucker” while speaking in a Jamaican accent. In an unusual February interview, Blair said he found the remark “disgusting.” He also alleged that Lisi had informed investigators in advance that Doug Ford was planning an offensive against the chief.

Doug Ford has said he has never met Lisi. He said recently that Rob Ford has cut ties with Lisi, whom the mayor previously described as a “friend.”

The mayor could be forced to testify under oath at Lisi’s preliminary hearing, which is scheduled to begin in March. He argued Friday that the impending subpoena is “not even news,” and spoke instead about spending he believes was wasteful.

He would not comment on his brother’s accusation about Blair.

“That’s his personal opinion,” Rob Ford said.

Pugash would not say if there is anything Doug Ford can do to avoid legal action. He also declined to say if Blair is planning to take action or merely contemplating it.

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The lead investigator on the Lisi case, Det.-Sgt. Gary Giroux, had arranged to serve the mayor with the subpoena, which is issued by a judge or justice of the peace, on Thursday. The plan was postponed after media reached out to Ford’s lawyer, Dennis Morris, about it.

“Basically if they want to subpoena the mayor, they’re going to, and it’s just a matter of where and when,” Morris said Thursday.

Rob Ford has refused to say anything about the numerous phone calls police documents claim were made between him and Lisi during the days prior to his denial of the existence of the video. He might be compelled to do so at the preliminary hearing.

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