Search warrant details Kentucky bourbon distillery trips taken by NC lawmakers
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- A warrant shows liquor companies paid lawmakers' distillery trip expenses.
- A Wake County grand jury indicted four lobbyists for unlawfully giving gifts to lawmakers.
- An SBI affidavit alleges Greater Carolina used 501(c)(4) laws to evade disclosure.
A search warrant made public this month reports how liquor businesses covered expenses for 11 state lawmakers in 2022 and nine lawmakers in 2024 to attend distillery tours in Kentucky, both trips arranged by a nonprofit now under investigation.
The warrant was made public roughly a month after a Wake County grand jury indicted four lobbyists on a charge of violating the state law that bans gifts to state lawmakers.
Special Agent Kailah Kearney of the State Bureau of Investigation sought the warrant to search bank records connected to Greater Carolina, a Mooresville-based nonprofit initially formed by a former aide in 2018 to then state Rep. Jason Saine.
She said in the warrant “there is probable cause to believe that Greater Carolina orchestrated through the use of 501(c)(4) non-profit organizations to enable lobbyists and their principals to evade lobbying disclosure and reporting requirements from 2022 to present.
“Based on the information in this affidavit, your affiant believes there is probable cause to believe that information contained in the banking records . . . may be evidence of conduct and activities constituting violations of the Lobbying Act, the State Ethics Act, and hte offense of Obstruction of Justice by individuals associated with Greater Carolina, Inc., Diageo North America, and/or Sazerac Company Inc.”
The distillery tours did not become public until shortly after the second trip in April 2024, when an employee at one of the distilleries complained about the group’s behavior. Carolina Forward, a left-leaning nonprofit based in Carrboro, subsequently obtained additional information about that trip and filed a complaint in August 2024. By then, Saine had left his legislative position and by year’s end was lobbying for The Southern Group.
Last week, The News & Observer reported that Saine was no longer working for the Florida-based lobbying firm. He did not return messages seeking why, and the firm declined to comment.
One of the four lobbyists indicted by the Wake grand jury is Kevin Wilkinson, who opened up The Southern Group’s Raleigh office. The others are David Ferrell, Douglas Bowen Heath and Douglas Miskew. Each of the four face a misdemeanor charge of solicitation to commit violations of the offense of giving gifts by lobbyists and lobbying principals.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 3:43 PM with the headline "Search warrant details Kentucky bourbon distillery trips taken by NC lawmakers."