So there is actually 2 stories in that article.
1. NY got taken for 69 million dollars for 0 ventilators and it was based on a recommendation from The White House task force although there is no name for the person who made the recommendation.
2. The Trump administration gave a bankrupt company 55 million dollars for N 95 masks.
I looked up the number 2 story and found lots of stories well the same story but from sources like Daily KOs, NYT, Business Insider and other websites with the same story as posted about staring in early April to present day.
I then found a Snopes entry asking if the Trump story was true their findings were: “Mixture which” means it is not true but because of some twists and turns they don’t want to come out right and say it was a lie but it was.
Here is the Snopes piece:
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/panthera-masks/
Post 14
Good digging
For that first story....the $69-million with the WH guy making a recommendation but no one citing the name....I’d call it a bogus story. Either they produce the guy’s name, or the recommendation never occurred.
I can say that anyone carrying around $69-million in their pocket and willing to spend it....will carry a folder of notes, cost-estimates, time-lines for delivery, and signed statements. Something about this story just doesn’t ring true.