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But in a separate letter sent to Innes by MacNaughton and obtained by the CBC has suggested the move may have been driven by a desire to protect one of Trudeau’s star candidates, Chrystia Freeland.

According to the letter, MacNaughton said the party would have supported Innes’s nomination if Innes agreed not to run in the same riding as Freeland in 2015, when ridings are due to be reorganized.

The letter says Innes rejected the proposal “out of hand.”

Innes called the allegations against her “totally baseless and without merit,” and said the Liberal Party had not raised the issue with her.

So this happened yesterday. Celebrating #TeamCanada‘s win over USA w/ @spaikin + @JustinTrudeau! #lib14 #WeAreWinter pic.twitter.com/hY5k5mLnNX — Zach Paikin (@zpaikin) February 23, 2014

“I am now incredibly saddened that those same people have now not only manufactured allegations of apparent ‘intimidation and bullying on young volunteers’ by my team, but made them public,” she said.

Paikin said it was always known that Trudeau had identified preferred candidates in some ridings, “and if he wanted to campaign for some of those favourites, that would be his prerogative.”

“But once you start blocking candidacies, you go down a slippery slope,” Paikin said.

In his letter, Paikin drew a parallel between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Liberal party’s rejection of Innes’s candidacy, writing: “Stephen Harper is ‘Exhibit A’ of what happens when a leader compromises on his democratic principles in order to win power.”

Paikin said that Innes was a “good friend,” but said his decision to speak out and withdraw his own candidacy for the Ontario riding of Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas was driven by principles.

Paikin is the son of broadcaster Steve Paikin, host of TV Ontario’s political show The Agenda. At the age of 20, Paikin ran to be the federal Liberal Party policy chair, losing to Maryanne Kampouris.

Trudeau initially promised to hold open nomination meetings in every riding across the country, including his own, during his leadership campaign last year.

But his clear preference for certain candidates such as Freeland, retired general Andrew Leslie and Manitoba businessman Jim Carr had prompted grumbles even before Innes’s candidacy was rejected.

Would-be contestants must also first win the approval of the party’s “green light committee,” which has the power to block those who don’t meet certain standards.

For instance, prospective nominees who have yet to pay off past leadership campaign debts, such as David Bertschi and George Tkach, have been warned they’ll be blocked unless they can demonstrate a credible plan to retire their debts.