What Lincoln said -is- the record, good bad or indifferent. You have tried to distort the record, if only by ignoring the Conkling letter, which you have seen many times before.
It is simply false to suggest that Lincoln himself thought the EP unconstitutional. It is a lie.
Walt
In 1863 Lincoln stated that "I felt differently", and 8 month later wrote "I felt that measures, otherwise unconstitutional, might become lawful." A measure that is Constitutional is already "lawful" - there is no need for it to "become" lawful. Lincoln hoped for future (ex post facto) legislation to legalize his actions (meaning that they were currently illegal).