According to people familiar with the matter, the staff attorneys at the Justice Department's antitrust division are about to give a recommendation to block Comcast Corp.'s bid to buy Time Warner Cable Inc.

According to media reports, the attorneys, who have been investigating Comcast's $45.2 billion proposal for the creation of a nationwide cable giant, have leaned against the merger. They are concerned that it could harm the consumers, and that they might submit their review by next week.

The report said that the antitrust lawyers will be presenting their findings to Renata Hesse, a deputy assistant attorney general for antitrust.

Hesse along with the division's top officials will decide whether to file a federal lawsuit to block the deal or not.

One of the people said that the Justice Department lawyers have been contacting outside parties in the previous few weeks to shore up evidence in the support of a potential case against the merger.

Two people familiar with the situation said that the officials at the antitrust division and the Federal Communications Commission, which is also reviewing the deal, haven't negotiated with Comcast about conditions to the merger. Such conditions would resolve concerns, including selling parts of its business or changing practices.

Sena Fitzmaurice, a Comcast spokesman, said that there is no basis for a lawsuit to block the transaction.

As a result of the merger, consumers will get significant consumer benefits, including faster broadband speeds, access to a superior video experience, and more competition in business services, that would result in billions of dollars of cost savings.

Bobby Amirshahi, Time Warner Cable spokesman, said, "We have been working productively with both DOJ and FCC and believe that there is no basis for DOJ to block the deal".