The hardtsking staff has noted on numerous occasions the antics of Rick Berman, corporate America’s go-to gunsel for subverting labor unions, public-health advocates, and consumer, safety, animal welfare, and environmental groups.

(Helpful Rachel Maddow interview with Berman.)

Here’s the first graf of Berman’s bio on the Center for Media and Democracy’s SourceWatch.

Richard B. (Rick) Berman is a former labor management attorney and restaurant industry executive who, with his firm Berman & Co., currently works as a Washington, D.C. lobbyist for the food, alcoholic beverage, tobacco industries and, more recently, other industries. Berman & Co. has lobbied for companies such as Cracker Barrel, Hooters, International House of Pancakes, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, Red Lobster, Steak & Ale, TGI Friday’s, Uno’s Restaurants, and Wendy’s.

But Berman isn’t out front in those efforts; he’s all about front groups – non-profit organizations such as the Center for Consumer Freedom, which ran this ad in yesterday’s New York Times.

Since the ad urges Times reader to “Find out which is which at CleanFoodFacts.com,” we went there. And yes, as you might have guessed, the list on the right features the plant-based meat ingredients.

Drive vegans nuts graf: “Fake meat may try to mimic the look and taste of meat, but its ingredients are closer to mimicking dog food.”

Rick Berman might be – as CBS’s 60 Minutes labeled him – Dr. Evil, but he’s damn good at this stuff.

Here’s how good.

About 10 years ago the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) set up a website called Berman Exposed.

CREW LAUNCHES BERMANEXPOSED.ORG– RIPPING THE CLOAK OF SECRECY AWAY FROM FRONT MAN RICHARD BERMAN

Washington, D.C. – Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) launched BermanExposed.org, a site dedicated to exposing lobbyist Richard Berman’s activities, his myriad front groups and projects, his employees’ work, and his firm’s tactics.

For years, Berman has been a front man for business and industry in campaigns against consumer safety and health promotion groups. Through his public relations firm, Berman and Company, Berman has fought unions, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and other watchdog groups in their efforts to raise awareness about childhood obesity, the minimum wage, the dangers of smoking, mad cow disease, drunk driving, and other issues. Berman runs at least 15 industry-funded front groups and projects, such as the Center for Union Facts (CUF).

Except . . . click on the BermanExposed.org link and you get this.

Wait, what?

Rick Berman now owns BermanExposed.org?

That’s not even evil. That’s just brilliant.

P.S. The headscratching staff will be contacting CREW forthwith to ask how the hell that actually happened.