“In an attempt to conceal my mistake, I submitted false images and deleted other images,” says the artist, who has been involved in countersuits with the AP. “I take full responsibility for my actions, which were mine alone.”

NYTimes:

Mr. Fairey told The A.P. — and his own lawyers — that he used a shot from an event about Darfur at the National Press Club in Washington event where Mr. Obama was seated next to George Clooney. Instead, the photograph he used was a solo image of Mr. Obama’s head, tilted in intense concentration. Mr. Fairey admitted that in the subsequent months following the suit and countersuit, Mr. Fairey destroyed evidence and created false documents to cover up the real source.

Very disappointing. The lawsuits are obviously in disarray. Wisely, Fairey’s counsel quit even as he said, “We still believe, as strongly as ever in the underlying fair use and expression issues of this case”. TechCrunch has Fairey’s full statement.