At Key Locations Throughout the Nation’s Capital, Civil Servants are Urged to Blow the Whistle: “Tell the Truth with Documents”
In an unprecedented push for whistleblowing in the nation’s capital, the new organization ExposeFacts announced today that 13 billboards have gone up near Capitol Hill, the Justice Department, the White House, the Government Accountability Office, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the State Department, a popular bookstore at Dupont Circle and other prominent locations.
The six-foot billboards display a message from Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg: “Don’t do what I did. Don’t wait until a new war has started, don’t wait until thousands more have died, before you tell the truth with documents that reveal lies or crimes or internal projections of costs and dangers. You might save a war’s worth of lives.”
Ellsberg is a member of the advisory board of ExposeFacts, which is encouraging whistleblowers to “disclose information that citizens need to make truly informed decisions in a democracy.” He joined with NSA, State Department, EPA and Justice Department whistleblowers to help launch the new organization, which is part of the nonprofit Institute for Public Accuracy.
ExposeFacts “aims to shed light on concealed activities that are relevant to human rights, corporate malfeasance, the environment, civil liberties and war,” the group says. The ExposeFacts.org site features the whistleblower submission system known as “SecureDrop,” provided by the Freedom of the Press Foundation.
Locations of Billboards From ExposeFacts.org
Just South of State Department: On the east side of 23rd St. NW, just south of C St. and north of Constitution Ave. Across the street from the government-sponsored Institute of Peace. Not far from the Lincoln Memorial, Albert Einstein Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial and Federal Reserve Building. [Map]
Just North of State Department: On the east side of 23rd St., north of E St and south of Virginia Ave, NW. Between State Department and Foggy Bottom metro. Also just south of George Washington University campus. [Map]
Two Blocks North of the White House: On the north side of I St. NW at Farragut Park and 17th St. intersection. Close to Old Executive Office Building, New Executive Office building and just south of K St. lobbying firms. Also couple of blocks northeast of the World Bank and IMF. Next to Farragut West metro. [Map]
One Block East of White House, Across Street from Treasury: On the west side of 15th St. NW, between F and G Sts. Just outside Old Ebbitt Grill. A block west from National Press Club and Hill+Knowlton PR firm and numerous hotels; two blocks from Metro Center station. [Map]
Between Department of Justice and FBI: On the south side of Pennsylvania Ave., between 9th and 10th St. NW. Two blocks east of IRS and EPA. Also near National Archives and the Carlyle Group. Equidistant to Federal Triangle and Archives Metro Stations. [Map]
Outside Iraqi Embassy: On the north side of P St. NW; east of Dupont Circle. Just north and around the corner from the Brookings Institution, Johns Hopkins University – School of Advanced International Studies, the Center for International Policy and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Just near of embassies of Uzbekistan, Botswana and Mozambique [Map]
Just North of Dupont Circle: Just outside Kramer Books. On the west side of Connecticut Ave. NW, at the intersection with Q St. Human Rights Watch, private law and equity firms nearby. Near start of “Embassy Row” and a block north of the embassies of Portugal and Indonesia. [Map]
Just West of Capitol Hill: Just west of the Botanical Gardens. Within a block of Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education and Voice of America. Also near FEMA. On the south side of Independence Ave, SW and west of 3rd St. On the National Mall near the National Museum of the American Indian. [Map]
East of the Capitol: On the north side of Pennsylvania Ave. SE at the intersection with 3rd St. A block southeast of the Library of Congress; three blocks east of Congressional Office Buildings and the Supreme Court. Three blocks from Capital South Metro station. [Map]
Just Outside the Marine Barracks: On the north side of I St. SE, between 8th and 9th Sts. Three blocks south of Eastern Market Metro Station. Marine Barracks conducts Evening Parades on Fridays beginning May 2 until Aug. 29, 2014. They start at 8:45 p.m. (RSVP to reserve admission) [Map]
Near Government Accountability Office: On the south side of H St. NW in Chinatown, west of 6th St., north of Verizon Center, Gallery Place-Chinatown Metro Station. Not far from Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Building Museum. [Map]
Across the Street of Navy Yard: On the north side of M St. SE, west of 7th St. Naval Sea Systems Command and many government contractors’ offices nearby including Lockheed Martin. Six blocks east of Navy Yard Metro Station. [Map]
Southern Exit of Defense Intelligence Agency: On the east side of Overlook Ave. SW at the intersection with Shephard Pkwy in Anacostia. Across the street from U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. [Map]