Former President George W. Bush has canceled a planned appearance in Denver tomorrow because WikiLeaks Editor-in-Chief Julian Assange was also extended an invitation to speak.
Bush was to speak at the Young Presidents' Organization's Global Leadership Summit, an event that allows participants "to interact and network with leading CEOs from all over the world," according to the conference website.
"This week, upon learning that Julian Assange had recently been invited to address the same summit, President Bush decided to cancel his appearance," Bush spokesman David Sherzer said in a statement. "The former president has no desire to share a forum with a man who has willfully and repeatedly done great harm to the interests of the United States."
"We regret that our members will not be able to hear from President Bush," YPO International Chairman Jill Belconis said in a statement. "President Bush has spoken to our members several times in the past, and we hope to have him participate in another YPO event in the future."
Assange remains under house arrest in England, and his name does not appear on the conference's schedule. However, the Denver Post reported that Assange appeared via video.
This week, a British judge ordered Assange extradited to Sweden, where he faces sexual-assault charges.
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