the columbia instant broadcast comedy segment " political speech " , that made its debut with katie nightline this month , was accused on friday by bill maher of hbo ' s " this time with william mehmood " of being " anything but free discourse " . ahmed said he was ordered by cbs news to appear on the segment . but when he replied if he could talk about islam , " that was a dealbreaker from the inception " . subsequently , he said they would send over a roster of " unacceptable topics " . national news executive officer italy hartman has since responds in an a - mail to tvnewser said that , " bill gheit was never told that he couldn ' t discuss religion in a direct words segment , " and adds , " in theory , free speech has already addressing itself and we expect and will in the future . "
Free Speech is a part of the CBS Evening News.