Chris Bragg
@ChrisBragg1
Followers
12,025
Following
1,299
Media
29
Statuses
6,856
Capitol bureau chief, New York Focus. Longtime investigative reporter covering New York government, former Buffalo News, Times Union. Tips: cbragg @nysfocus .com
Albany, NY
Joined July 2011
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
都知事選
• 597311 Tweets
Indian Media Spreading Lies
• 374960 Tweets
七夕の日
• 251457 Tweets
小池百合子
• 247318 Tweets
蓮舫さん
• 180965 Tweets
織姫と彦星
• 164361 Tweets
民主主義
• 155464 Tweets
Uhuru Park
• 143422 Tweets
石丸さん
• 133049 Tweets
小池さん
• 123382 Tweets
#BritishGP
• 119923 Tweets
東京都民
• 117366 Tweets
出口調査
• 109627 Tweets
石丸伸二
• 105732 Tweets
Lewis
• 89837 Tweets
当選確実
• 89813 Tweets
石丸2位
• 72043 Tweets
公職選挙法違反
• 65009 Tweets
SB19 WON OUR HEARTS
• 59969 Tweets
Abhishek Sharma
• 54759 Tweets
東京終了
• 51612 Tweets
蓮舫3位
• 47283 Tweets
短冊メーカー
• 35245 Tweets
願いごと
• 34948 Tweets
日本終了
• 29302 Tweets
無党派層
• 28303 Tweets
#七夕の願い事2024
• 24718 Tweets
安野さん
• 21008 Tweets
プロジェクションマッピング
• 19443 Tweets
#降り積もれ孤独な死よ
• 17485 Tweets
予想通り
• 15482 Tweets
ULTRA C
• 15431 Tweets
投票率の低さ
• 13897 Tweets
McLaren
• 13687 Tweets
天城先生
• 12354 Tweets
LANDO NORRIS
• 11241 Tweets
広島1区
• 10219 Tweets
New: Gov. Hochul has said she was ‘not aware’ a company that landed $637M in no-bid payments was a campaign donor.
But a month before the huge deal was struck, records show, the head of the company threw a campaign fundraiser for Hochul
574
2K
4K
New: For the exact same coronavirus test, California paid 45% less per test than NY.
California bought from the manufacturer, while NY bought through a third party distributor that took a cut — and was a major Hochul campaign donor
87
545
1K
Breaking: Cuomo's office is being investigated by the FBI over its practice of hiring Executive Chamber officials to random agencies and public authorities, per sources. Story in a few mins
16
296
459
Hearing Hochul's office is retaining a litigator, ex-state solicitor general Caitlin Halligan, for a likely legal battle with Senate Democrats over Hector LaSalle's nomination. At issue: whether nominee can be voted down in the Judiciary Committee or requires a full chamber vote
85
128
488
Hat tip to
@chris_churchill
, who noted the November Tebele donations in his column (prompting me to go back and look at them)
11
105
407
Ethics commission (again) orders Cuomo to repay $5.1M from book deal, this time sparking likely court battle )
10
82
363
New: Gov. Hochul’s use of taxpayer-funded state aircraft while keeping a heavy schedule for her 2022 election bid may have violated state ethics rules
60
102
353
Jobs news: Today's my first day in a new job at
@nysfocus
, where I'm heading a new (eventually expanding) Albany bureau. I've been a fan of their digging into NY government, and will be doing investigative reporting on power, influence and issues impacting places around New York
33
29
294
I staked out a meeting of the Senate's secretive Working Rules group -- and survived -- but may need therapy after the $188K-a-year spokesman for
@AndreaSCousins
repeatedly called me a 'fucking hack' and 'clown'
5
67
271
Some job news: I’m joining
@TheBuffaloNews
later this month, trying to fill the very big shoes left by
@TomPreciousALB
. Thanks to the
@timesunion
, a great and fearless newspaper full of super-talented people
71
14
268
So apparently
@ZephyrTeachout
lawsuit about
@RepSeanMaloney
fundraising transfer was not thrown out minutes later, as Maloney said in a press release, and actually, a court date was set.
1
70
172
New: A family donated $300K to Gov. Hochul. New York has paid the family business $637 million since the end of December.
23
124
178
NYC News:
@NomikiKonst
, well-known on the left for on-air work
@TheYoungTurks
, created a campaign committee to raise money for an NYC Public Advocate run, per state Board of Elections filings
10
54
158
New: How a Hochul campaign donor received $637M in state payments: The administration paid Digital Gadgets $12.25 per COVID test last winter, while no other vendor was paid more than $7.80 per test. Some were paid $5
14
117
150
NEW: Government resources were used for Cuomo 2014 campaign,
in apparent violation of law. Records show 68 calls made from Joe Percoco’s state phone to campaign office
21
121
132
NEW: After $25K donation to Cuomo, Crystal Run CEO's business problem was quickly solved by top Cuomo aide Joe Percoco, emails show. Sources say the company is now under FBI probe for potential 'straw donors' in $400K of overall giving to governor
13
116
125
New: Emails reveal how major Hochul campaign donors seek sway, leveraging discussions with Hochul at fundraisers into access
8
52
130
Story: The FBI is investigating the hiring practices of Cuomo's office
17
95
99
This Dov Hikind lawsuit against
@AOC
is rather ironic, given that since around 2014 when he was still a public official, Dov Hikind has blocked me on Twitter.
It was after a story I wrote that started a Moreland Commission investigation into him
Former Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind claims Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is breaking the law by blocking him on Twitter.
20
14
19
11
50
124
New: Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie has been dating a lobbyist with business before the Assembly.
He's declining to disclose the relationship or steps to avoid a conflict of interest -- but his office did privately draft a letter about it on Monday
15
66
121
An NY ethics officer believed a contract was being illegally steered to a politically-wired law firm. With a supervisor, she filed JCOPE complaint
Three days later, a top aide to Gov. Hochul allegedly asked supervisor to quit. The ethics officer was fired
17
53
111
New: Cuomo’s new JCOPE chair ran governor’s ‘defense’ program — which embedded senior lawyers at two dozen agencies to be the eyes and ears of governor’s office. Work includes flagging problematic FOIL requests
10
64
96
NEW: Cuomo donor Crystal Run tried to spend $25M in taxpayer funds it didn't need on expensive artwork, 'mood music' systems, 'artificial flowers' for lobby. Those weren't approved, but the state did approve $6M so far, including $1.2M for office furniture
1
84
87
NEW: The Cuomo administration awarded 54 acres of land rights to a bidder. Suddenly, that award disappeared.
It was re-bid by new agency - and went to one of Cuomo's biggest donors, Adam Katz, who's flown Cuomo on his luxury private jets a dozen times
14
81
79
New: A top Hochul donor, Charlie Tebele, wrote an email suggesting that at a fundraiser he hosted for the governor, Tebele and Hochul discussed ‘COVID tests’ — days before $637M in no-bid orders with Tebele’s company, Digital Gadgets
5
44
95
Have gotten to the point with
@NYGovCuomo
's FOIL office where they are simply -- illegally -- completely ignoring me, when I file an appeal asking for a legally required explanation for why they're taking so long
9
47
86
New: Some current and ex-staffers to Gov. Cuomo dispute that their work on his private book deal was truly 'voluntary.' That potentially undercuts Cuomo's argument that government staffers' efforts on the lucrative book were legal
8
42
85
New: NY Republican Party headquarters in Albany served as a final hub of a dubious petitioning effort that's since sparked controversy.
Petition signatures were bound at party headquarters, but 11,000 were later found to have been photocopied
20
45
79
NEW: Email states top Cuomo officials were pitched by major donor Crystal Run in midst of the competitive $1.2B process. Two days after meeting, where it could have gained exclusive insight, Crystal submitted bids and won $25M for projects already building
9
70
61
New: An FBI probe of the Cuomo administration's hiring practices has quietly been ongoing since 2017.
This February, the administration signed a $1.2M contract extension with a criminal defense law firm initially retained for the Buffalo Billion inquiry
5
45
67
So much for filling ‘the void’ with timely information. For a third time, Cuomo’s office denies my appeal seeking the paperwork he submitted to Jcope when governor sought approval for ‘American Crisis’
6
26
69
A twist: AG Tish James’ office finds problems with order demanding Cuomo repay $5M via
@Brendan_LyonsTU
25
25
65
The unanswered questions in the Assembly's Cuomo report, including why priority COVID testing was dropped without mention
2
21
61
Filed a random FOIL request in Washington State, and they are getting it back to me within like one day. What is wrong with these people, don't they know it's supposed to take at least six months?
5
11
61
The Cuomo-appointed chair of New York's ethics commission resigned on Friday, announcing the decision an email to other commissioners.
Meanwhile, a commissioner is planning a motion to rescind JCOPE's approval of Cuomo's $5.1M book deal
7
47
60
A couple hours after Cuomo announced his resignation, the Executive Chamber filled my 11-month old FOIL request seeking a list of staffers that work in the office. Welcome to a new Albany?
2
10
61
Breaking: The Southern District US Attorney office is investigating Crystal Run, a huge donor to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Company employees have gotten grand jury subpoenas
4
41
54
Is Debbie Wasserman Schultz advising the NY State Democratic Committee?
NYS Dem committee issues a new rule- anyone who is vying for the democratic nomination for governor must release 10 years of tax returns. Edict comes hours after Cuomo opponent
@CynthiaNixon
releases one year of taxes
51
91
158
2
21
55
After Hochul campaign donor complained, a state agency's liquor license denial was quickly reversed. For unexplained reasons, Hochul's top campaign fundraiser was cc'ed in emails between the donor and Executive Chamber
8
22
55
The Albany District Attorney is investigating 11,000 photocopied petition signatures NY Republicans submitted in seeking to revive a third party ballot line via
@Brendan_LyonsTU
4
29
54
Just took the acclaimed new Exit 3 to Albany International Airport. It cuts roughly 15 seconds off the trip
5
4
54
New York's plan to rebuild 23 rest areas along the Thruway wasn't supposed to cost taxpayers a dime. But contractors are now quietly seeking a $260M bailout in the state budget process
10
37
50
Since the new JCOPE chair did not respond to texts and calls for the story, I did not get a photo
And yet the main photo isn’t of her, the first diverse woman to chair.
21
2
19
3
4
46
When Gov. Cuomo sought approval for his book, his counsel wrote to JCOPE that it would be written "without the use of state resources or personnel." Yet Cuomo's office now says state personnel were allowed to "volunteer" on the book
9
32
47
New: In 2015, Assemblyman Michael Blake introduced a bill benefitting Airbnb.
In the month before, Airbnb paid $189K to Hilltop Public Solutions to push the top legislative priority.
The kicker: Blake was earning outside income consulting for Hilltop
4
39
45
NY Attorney General’s office declines to detail $1.1M in taxpayer spending on Cuomo case — a contract Cuomo’s attorney says was misleadingly not disclosed to a federal judge
9
21
47
JCOPE is investigating phone calls that former top Cuomo aide Larry Schwartz made to Democratic county executives
7
31
42
Lobbyists helped Hochul raise $10m. What are they getting back?
Looking at a recent cannabis industry fundraiser and two bills already vetoed after significant corporate lobbying, as Hochul signs or vetoes hundreds more over the next week
4
27
41
Billionaire Ronald Lauder was the donor behind $3 million in attack ads that helped kill three proposed constitutional amendments on Nov. 2
5
17
40
Hochul went to Boston today to attend a campaign fundraiser, hosted by a major contractor there, John Fish.
Fish was also a major Cuomo donor, and landed an $86M state contract in 2020, despite there being two lower bidders
8
22
38
Also: In midst of state bidding for $1.2 billion -- which eventually brought Crystal Run the unneeded $25 million -- the company's CEO appears to have attended a Cuomo fundraiser at the Plaza, where he gave Cuomo $50,000
7
22
37
Niskayuna facility had dozens of ventilators, difficulty giving them to state
12
28
32
Breaking: Cuomo book approval rescinded by ethics panel, jeopardizing millions
5
24
38
A $500K settlement details the Cuomo administration's misuse of a federal clean-water grant to pay for staffers in Cuomo's office -- the result of a long-running FBI investigation into Cuomo's hiring practices
4
33
38
The Cuomo administration is seeking to hide its communications with Crystal Run. That's why I'm harping on this obscure question
.
@NYGovCuomo
said today he wants reform FOIL. So maybe his health department could also answer this very basic question about FOIL it I've been asking them the past 5 weeks?
3
13
24
2
11
32
New York’s new top transparency official was hired in a secretive manner, and her prior Cuomo administration job raises further transparency questions, including helping lead a leak investigation & ruling against the TU on 10 out of 10 FOIL appeal rulings
3
33
36
New: Gov. Hochul and the role of lobbyists in $21M in campaign fundraising, including a gambling fundraiser in New Orleans, lobbying at a fundraiser, and a $30k a month lobbying contract
2
25
38
Since I wrote this story last week, the Department of Health has simply ceased responding to my FOIL requests whatsoever. Which is technically illegal - but who cares what the law actually says?
11
21
33
At close to 5 pm on a Friday, the state IG’s office responded to several FOIL requests, delaying filling them another month.
If the IG investigation into the JCOPE leak was genuinely done above-board, why wouldn’t you want to release the evidence showing that?
4
19
35
New: The state ethics watchdog has subpoenaed Gov. Hochul’s administration for records related to top politicians’ use of a luxury Buffalo Bills suite. A game that is a subject of a subpoena was attended by Hochul, Speaker Heastie and several lobbyists
6
21
36
Why is JCOPE’s spokesman confirming the existence of an ongoing probe here? They’ve said 100 times they’re not allowed to do that and there aren’t different rules just because it’s de Blasio
NEW: Mayor Bill de Blasio’s defunct nonprofit fundraising group is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the state’s ethics watchdog, THE CITY has learned.
7
34
49
4
13
36
After Charlie and Nancy Tebele maxed out to Hochul’s campaign in May, several children donated heavily.
Another Tebele family member (and college undergrad) was hired by Hochul to campaign fundraising staff in May
3
19
31
Top NY Republicans, including ex-Congressman John Faso and ex-party chair Ed Cox, have formed a 'super PAC' to boost Lee Zeldin's bid for governor
6
10
29
Cuomo ethics commissioners block subpoena to governor’s office
6
25
33
The Cuomo administration is refusing to release underlying records for report absolving itself for 6,000 nursing home deaths.
@HealthNY
once again stands out for level of secrecy
6
21
32
Irony: As NY Democrat chair Byron Brown slams
@marcmolinaro
for dodging pay-to-play questions,
@NYGovCuomo
campaign refuses to answer even the most basic questions about Crystal Run - including whether Cuomo's recent comments about donations were actually true
@abbey_e_collins
3
30
33
Breaking: JCOPE votes to authorize investigation by Attorney General
@TishJames
in apparent 2019 JCOPE leak to Gov. Cuomo. Vote happening soon on whether to probe 'cover up' by Inspector General
2
8
33
$3 million in attacks ads by the Conservative Party helped defeat three proposed constitutional amendments -- and the donors behind the spending remained hidden. But it's not clear the party's tactic was legal, and the Board of Elections has questions
1
15
32
"An aide to Cuomo, speaking on background, recounted that [Howard] Glaser had allegedly dropped his government-issued Blackberry in a large glass of water before departing the administration in 2014." via
@Brendan_LyonsTU
@ByEdMcKinley
1
10
31
Following up on
@NYDailyNews
story about probe of LG Brian Benjamin grants:
In 2019, a $50K state Senate education/pork grant -- likely steered by Benjamin -- went to nonprofit led by a developer charged last year with giving Benjamin straw donations
2
26
33
Tish James, in explaining shunning allies in
@WorkingFamilies
in AG race, says Dem leaders she was courting saw the WFP as far too ‘self-righteous’, liberal and white. In 1 hr interview, she also confirmed Cuomo talked to her about spurning WFP, too
11
21
30
New: How Albany's highest-spending lobbying group pushes for more hospital spending -- and made $1 Billion off businesses that benefited from more hospital spending
2
14
28
A substantial basis vote to investigate governor requires 2 appointees to vote in favor that are same party as the gov. Because of resignations, there currently aren’t 2 Democratic governor appointees on JCOPE. These are the special voting rules
@SenatorBiaggi
wants to get rid of
1
8
30
Here's a (final?) report on Cuomo FOIL policies. Short answer: They'll directly answer questions, if the answers support policies that keep information from the public.
Otherwise, no such luck. *Thanks to all who put up w/ my tweets the past 2 months
5
30
27
By law, Cuomo needed to fill out a form stating what hours during the week (during a pandemic) he was dedicating to a 300-page book. Cuomo’s office is declining to provide a copy of it
2
9
28
New: Cuomo admin's stonewalling goes far beyond nursing homes--including refusal to show he followed ethics rules before publication of "American Crisis."
Before his first book, Cuomo did NOT provide all required info to JCOPE, but it was still approved
7
11
29
Breaking: AG Tish James’ office has written a letter to JCOPE stating she cannot currently investigate its referral to investigate apparent illegal JCOPE leak to Cuomo. James’ office needs a ‘substantial basis’ vote - not just a majority vote of commissioners, it says
8
11
29
Update: Attorney confirms he's challenging Jeff Klein, says IDC leader 'huge part' of Albany dysfunction
1
8
28
Hochul’s office says the $637 million in payments — made without formal competitive bidding or a normal contract — were needed to rapidly gain at-home test kits as COVID spiked
8
12
24
.
@JeffKleinNY
may have first primary challenger: Anti-IDC activist Lewis Kaminski has formed Senate campaign committee, per election filing
2
18
27
How many of the 2 dozen NYC public advocate candidates simply see a chance to spend some taxpayer matching funds promoting themselves, while not having to give up their seats due to election’s odd timing
6
14
24
New: Cuomo’s office skirted hiring freeze, and rules for exemptions from it — but still saw the hirings approved by the Division of Budget anyway
6
19
24
Note that
@CynthiaNixon
answered tough questions for an hour.
@NYGovCuomo
- not yet scheduled
2
9
25
No other way to say it: the Cuomo admin's FOIL responses are often blatantly dishonest DOH spokesman Gary Holmes ($135K-a-yr) also refuses to answer this very basic question: Can the whole agency's emails can be searched for Crystal Run-related terms?
1
16
21
.
@NYGovCuomo
said today he wants reform FOIL. So maybe his health department could also answer this very basic question about FOIL it I've been asking them the past 5 weeks?
Have been trying for the past MONTH to get
@nyhealthgov
to answer this extremely simple question. But the taxpayer-funded DOH staff simply refuse to answer. Why? Doing so would likely show many of their FOIL responses are actually complete nonsense
1
8
10
3
13
24
Two years later, the state IG’s office says it’s STILL investigating Gov. Cuoms information technology agency - longer than it took Robert Mueller to conduct his entire investigation. It’s almost like this independent investigative agency doesn’t want to release damaging findings
4
9
24
NEW: Adam Katz is one of Gov. Cuomo’s largest campaign donors. Cuomo has ridden on Katz’s luxury jets a dozen times.
More unusual: huge donations from Katz's divorce lawyer, tax lawyer, housing contractor, cousins. Often in identical amounts, the same days
6
19
25
New: The leader of the Manhattan Democratic Party, Keith Wright, is now a registered lobbyist for 105 clients, & has personally lobbied staffs of Mantattan lawmakers. He didn’t file financial disclosures w/ more details the past 2 years (link fixed)
0
27
25
New: Cuomo and his Inspector Generals, including a case just preceding the Moreland Commission
8
14
23
IDC Jeff Klein leader faces potential primary from recently departed aide to Gov. Cuomo
1
16
24
Right before Hochul became governor, she wanted to use a state aircraft to fly to a campaign fundraiser, but a top Cuomo aide said it was illegal. Then Hochul became governor and did take a taxpayer-funded flight to a campaign event
11
13
23
During a private call on Monday, Lee Zeldin urged donors to give heavily to two outside spending groups backing his campaign. Audio of the call was obtained by the
@timesunion
5
14
24
At a special meeting on Tuesday, JCOPE to consider launching an internal inquiry into how Gov. Cuomo's book was approved by staff
6
21
21
Records also show John Haggerty — a petitioning expert, who previously served a prison term over a scandal related to the Independence Party — has been working as a well-paid consultant for the NY Republican Party
1
13
23
Despite ‘strict' Cuomo administration hiring freeze, allowing only hires to protect public health and safety, Cuomo keeps hiring political types for own office.
One new person hired to ‘communicate the ‘accomplishments of New York State to public’
4
14
21
Cuomo said Crystal Run never reached out to his campaign about federally probed donations. But - that wasn’t actually true
4
18
21