The latest allegation of misconduct raised against Puerto Rico’s Energy Czar Josué Colon Ortiz should be troubling, even in Washington. Several outlets on the island have reported that, as the August deadline neared to close the latest agreement to fix and manage its severely damaged, still-dysfunctional electric grid, he emailed subordinates telling them to “make sure the contract gets signed.”

The burning question is whether Colon’s email ordered his underlings to close the nearly $6 billion deal despite serious concerns about the business group involved or merely reminded them that an important deadline had arrived.