HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson now says that the story he told at that speech — the one about how he killed someone's contract because the guy said he didn't like George W. Bush — falls under the category of "anecdotal remarks." I think he thinks that's another way of saying the whole thing was a fib — in which case someone needs to buy this man a dictionary. The one I keep near my computer gives the following as synonyms for "anecdotal"…
designating, identifying, definitive, graphic, describing, narrative, expository, interpretive, anecdotal, characterizing, illuminating, illuminative, expressive, clear, true to life, illustrative, lifelike, vivid, portraitive, picturesque, circumstantial, eloquent, detailed, pictorial, photographic, classificatory, representative, indicative, revealing
Nothing in there about "not true." An anecdotal account can be casual or unverified but it can also be absolutely accurate.
It also seems to me this statement completely misses one of the main charges. Okay, maybe the story was apocryphal. But Jackson still told it to an auditorium full of folks who wanted government contracts from his department. The tale was a clear warning that if you wanted the deals, you'd better not get caught speaking against George W. Bush. That's disgraceful.