Lawmakers may face ethics violations if they talk about the “whistleblower” whose complaint spurred the impeachment inquiry during the upcoming public hearings, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the head inquisitor seeking to impeach and remove President Donald Trump, warned in a memo Tuesday.

the Washington Examiner’s Byron York noted in a tweet highlighting the November 12 memo authored by Schiff:

Whistleblower started Trump-Ukraine matter, framed issue in way House Dems have adopted for impeachment. Now Chairman Schiff orders GOP: Do not talk about whistleblower in impeachment hearings. If you do, you’ll hear from Ethics Committee.

Whistleblower started Trump-Ukraine matter, framed issue in way House Dems have adopted for impeachment. Now Chairman Schiff orders GOP: Do not talk about whistleblower in impeachment hearings. If you do, you'll hear from Ethics Committee. https://t.co/SPVajnNhlp pic.twitter.com/ZKcITQDjIb — Byron York (@ByronYork) November 12, 2019

The Democrat-led House Committees on Oversight and Reform, Intelligence, and Foreign Affairs have been conducting the impeachment inquiry. As the House Intelligence Committee Chairman, Schiff is the leader of the probe.

According to the memo, the Intelligence panel leading the probe will not “facilitate any efforts by President Trump or his allies to threaten, intimidate, or retaliate against the whistleblower who courageously and lawfully raised concerns about the President’s conduct.”

Under a section dubbed, “Whistleblower Protection and Confidentiality,” the memo stressed,

The Committee has a long, proud, and bipartisan history of protecting whistleblowers—including from efforts to threaten, intimidate, retaliate against or undermine the confidentiality of whistleblowers. … The Code of Official Conduct for Members of Congress requires that every Member “shall behave at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House.” The Committee on Ethics has historically viewed this provision as “encompassing violations of law and abuses of one’s official position.”

Even left-wing mainstream media outlets, including CNN, the New York Times, and Reuters — have acknowledged that everyone but the intelligence community inspector general who took the complaint is allowed under current law to identify the “whistleblower.”

Schiff, however, is preventing members of the committees pursuing the impeachment inquiry from even mentioning the leaker, let alone identifying the “whistleblower.”

Last week, a different whistleblower filed a complaint with the ICIG accusing the Democrat’s so-called courageous leaker of possibly breaking the law. The impeachment leaker “weaponized” whistleblowing into a “very lucrative money-making enterprise,” the complaint alleges.

Schiff has rejected the Republican’s request for the “whistleblower” and former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter to testify.

In his complaint, the Democrats’ “whistleblower” accused Trump of pressuring Ukraine during a July 25 call to investigate corruption allegations against Joe and Hunter in exchange for aid.

Trump, Ukraine, and some impeachment probe witnesses have denied the allegations. Meanwhile, however, other witnesses have presumed that a quid pro quo did take place in which the U.S. President pressured Ukraine in exchange for aid.

The partisan impeachment inquiry resolution, approved almost entirely along partisan lines with two Democrats joining all Republicans in opposing it, authorized public hearings, which are expected to begin Wednesday.