Columnist Armstrong Williams has reached a settlement with prosecutors regarding payments that he received by the Education Department to promote President Bush’s agenda.

Under the settlement, Mr. Williams confesses to no wrongdoing but will have to pay $34,000. The deal was reached last week by Mr. Williams, the Education Department and its subcontractor, Ketchum Communications.

“The department is happy to see this matter come to a close,” a spokeswoman for Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, Katherine McLane, said yesterday. “One of the first steps Secretary Spellings took when she came to office is to establish guidelines to prevent future occurrences of this type of situation.”

A message left at Mr. Williams’s office was not immediately returned yesterday.

The settlement brings to a close a year-long investigation into the case after reports emerged that the Education Department contracted with several radio, television, and print commentators to promote the No Child Left Behind Act.

Lawmakers criticized the contracts as an improper use of taxpayer dollars. Congressional auditors concluded the department engaged in illegal “covert propaganda” by hiring Mr. Williams without requiring him to disclose that he was paid.

In the settlement, the Justice Department examined whether Mr. Williams actually performed the work that was promised in his $240,000 contract signed in late 2003 and cited in his monthly reports to the Education Department.

Ultimately, prosecutors determined that he was overpaid $34,000. Their review did not examine whether he improperly promoted the Bush administration’s agenda.