Shepard Fairey has admitted in a new statement that he lied about and destroyed evidence in his ongoing battle with the Associated Press (AP) over the source of his iconic “Hope” poster of Barack Obama.

The artist has long maintained that the image he used for the poster came from a press photograph of the current president with George Clooney. Fairey now says that, though he initially believed that photograph to be the source of his work, he realized his error many months ago. Rather than admit his mistake, Fairey announced Friday that he “submitted false images and deleted other images.”

The AP argues that the artist owes credit and royalties to the news service for using the Obama photograph without authorization, while Fairey and his legal team have argued that his work was protected since he significantly altered the original photograph. Fairey’s revelation that he, in fact, used the photograph that the AP has said he used, could seriously jeopardize his standing in the case.

In a written statement, Fairey vowed to press on with his case and amend his court filings to reflect his new position. “Regardless of which of the two images was used, the fair use issue should be the same,” he said. Fairey also apologized to those who had supported him throughout the process. He wrote, “I am very sorry to have hurt and disappointed colleagues, friends, and family who have supported me in this difficult case and trying time in my life.”

Read more at the Los Angeles Times.