 [Politico] Christopher Steele, the British spook who authored a largely unverified dossier about President Donald Trump’s alleged ties to Russia, has backed out of plans to speak by video at a pro-democracy gathering in Baltimore next week, according to conference organizers.
The planned speaking engagement, which had not previously been reported, would have marked his first public appearance since the publication of the explosive dossier aside from brief statements he made to the media in March 2017.
Steele, a former MI6 officer, had been scheduled to speak about disinformation next Thursday at the Reawakening the Spirit of Democracy Conference at the George Peabody Library in Baltimore.
Steele was scheduled to speak on a panel moderated by Washington Post columnist Anne Applebaum. The panel also features Evelyn Farkas, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia under Barack Obama, and Ed Lucas of the Center for European Policy Analysis, Epshtein said.
Though Steele is listed as a speaker in promotional materials, Applebaum said that he had gotten "cold feet" last week and canceled. She added that he backed out on advice of counsel. An email sent to Steele’s private intelligence firm, Orbis, was not immediately returned. 
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