What was the context of his denials? Did he have a disliked body telling him it was al Queda so he ignored it? Did he have questionable evidence that many in the know questioned and he disregarded it because he didn't like what he was told? Was there evidence that was present and he ignored?
My point is, if there was evidence from the start and he knew it pointed to al Queda and he purposely ignored or disregarded it, then yes, he was lying if he kept claiming it was ETA.
So context is very important and the way your original question is phrased does not provide a proper context for an accurate answer.
