The American Red Cross had a golden opportunity Thursday to re-establish itself as the pre-eminent U.S. disaster relief organization. It could have dispelled any lingering doubts stemming from previously reported mishandling of donations. Instead the organization blew an opportunity to restore its image at a crucial time when Americans are looking for responsible charities to handle Hurricane Harvey donations.

The Red Cross came under fire in 2014 after National Public Radio and ProPublica investigated the charity’s overall efficiency ratings and reported irregularities about the way it channeled funds that donors had designated for specific disaster relief efforts.

The two news organizations reported that the Red Cross had tried to minimize the amount of money it reported for overhead and administrative purposes, as opposed to actual relief. Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti after a massive earthquake in 2010 came under scrutiny after Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, found that $124 million that donors had given to help Haitian victims had been diverted instead to domestic U.S. Red Cross expenses. That was one-quarter of what Red Cross donors had designated for Haiti relief.

After Hurricane Isaac hit Mississippi and Louisiana in 2012, the charity was so consumed with public relations, Red Cross drivers reportedly were told to drive around disaster sites with their trucks empty or nearly empty just to make it appear as if they were taking action.

Hurricane Harvey’s devastation in Houston marked the Red Cross’ chance to herald its return to an efficient and trustworthy nonprofit. But Brad Kieserman, the Red Cross vice president of disaster operations and logistics, came up short on answers when challenged Thursday by NPR host Ailsa Chang.

She reminded him of the previous reports and asked: How much of every dollar goes for relief? “Yeah, I don’t think I know the answer,” he responded.

She noted the diversion of Haiti-relief funds and asked whether that’s still happening. “It’s not something I would have any visibility on,” Kieserman said.

“You don’t know what portion of that total amount is for relief?” Chang asked.

“No, I really don’t,” Kieserman said. “I wish I could answer your question, but it’s not something I have visibility on in the role that I play in this organization.”

The Red Cross is enormous, with revenues of $2.7 billion, according to its 2016 annual report. We have no doubt that Kieserman is under heavy pressure to perform in Houston and demonstrate the organization’s ability to respond in a time of crisis.

The Red Cross has defended its operations. The watchdog website Charitynavigator.org, which rates charities based on financial health, transparency and accountability, gives it an impressive three out of four stars.

But bad news tends to linger. It’s inexcusable that someone at Kieserman’s senior level would go before the NPR microphones so woefully unprepared.