Former President George W. Bush has canceled his planned Saturday visit to Denver after learning that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange would be speaking at the same conference he was to attend.

“Six months ago, President Bush accepted an invitation to speak to the YPO Global Leadership Summit in Denver on February 26, 2011. This week, upon learning that Julian Assange had recently been invited to address the same summit, President Bush decided to cancel his appearance,” said Bush spokesman David Sherzer. “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.”

Assange appeared by video at the conference for young CEOs and other business leaders today at the Denver Convention Center, though the media was not allowed to view his appearance. Conference officials said they had not yet been notified of Bush’s decision to cancel his appearance.

Conference participants who attended Assange’s talk were reluctant to comment on the content of his address, saying they didn’t want the controversy to overshadow the YPO event.

One attendee, who declined to give his name, described Assange as “charming and engaging.” When asked about the cancellation by Bush, he said he felt the former president was entitled to his decision.

Bush was also to address an education reform group in Denver before his speech at the YPO summit.