500 times. The Manhattan DA convened a second grand jury the last week of October 2021; it began to hear evidence on November 4, reportedly to consider charges related to the company's valuation of assets. By November 22, prosecutors were scrutinizing several of the organization's properties for which, between 2011 and 2015, far higher values were presented to potential lenders than were reported to tax officials. In the most extreme case, in 2012, the 40 Wall Street building was cited as being worth $527 million to the former, but only $16.7 million to the latter. Michael Cohen subsequently stated that prosecutors could "indict Donald Trump tomorrow if they really wanted, and be successful". On December 1, the New York AG subpoenaed Trump in the civil case, with plans to depose him on January 7, 2022. Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. were issued subpoenas in the matter on the same day. By mid-December 2021, an accountant for Trump had testified before the grand jury. Prosecutors were reportedly examining whether the organization provided its outside accountants, Mazars USA, with cherry-picked information with which to prepare favorable financial statements to present to prospective lenders. Mazars provided disclaimers with its financial statements for the organization, indicating that the firm had not audited, reviewed, or given any assurances about them, and noting that "Donald J. Trump is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statement in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America." The Republican National Committee (RNC) agreed to pay up to $1.6 million of Trump's legal expenses for his defense in both the civil and criminal cases, which an RNC spokesperson referred to as "politically motivated legal proceedings". In December 2021, Trump's lawyer Alina Habba filed a lawsuit against New York AG Letitia James, alleging that the investigation of the former president was "guided solely by political animus and a desire to harass, intimidate, and retaliate against a private citizen who she views as a political opponent" and that his civil rights were being violated. A federal judge dismissed the suit in May 2022. On January 3, 2022, James and a lawyer for the organization filed a court document noting that Donald Trump and his two eldest children had moved to block their subpoenas on the premise that the AG was attempting to sidestep due process to gather evidence against them in the related criminal