HOUSTON, United States

A federal judge ruled Friday that President Donald Trump's executive order targeting the law firm that represented political foe Hilary Clinton was unconstitutional and permanently blocked his administration from enforcing the order, said media reports.

The executive order, which Trump issued against four law firms, called for the immediate suspension of any active security clearances held by Perkins Coie law firm employees.

It directed government agencies to require contractors to disclose any business with the firm and agency leaders to review all contracts with the company or entities doing business with it. The order also limited access by the law firm's employees to federal buildings and government workers.

"Using the powers of the federal government to target lawyers for their representation of clients and avowed progressive employment policies in an overt attempt to suppress and punish certain viewpoints, however, is contrary to the Constitution, which requires that the government respond to dissenting or unpopular speech or ideas with 'tolerance, not coercion,'" US District Judge Beryl Howell wrote in her ruling.

Howell noted that Trump's directive sought to punish Perkins Coie and sent a message that "lawyers must stick to the party line, or else." The judge also found that the executive order violated the first, fifth and sixth amendments to the Constitution.

Perkins Coie represented former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election, which she lost to Trump. The company hired a research firm that retained former British spy Christopher Steele, who produced the Steele Dossier, which alleged misconduct, conspiracy and cooperation between Trump's campaign and the Russian government leading up to the election.

The decision from Howell is the first in one of four cases brought by law firms that have been targeted and penalized by Trump because of their associations with people and political causes that the president disfavors.

The other three firms -- Jenner & Block, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr and Susman Godfrey -- have filed lawsuits challenging their respective executive orders.

At least nine other law firms, however, have reached agreements with the White House to avoid being penalized by the president. The deals, announced by Trump on social media, include commitments to provide between $40 million and $125 million in pro bono legal work.

Howell referenced the nine firms in her ruling and said they appeared to have received Trump's suggestion that they may be subject to punishment unless they agree to his terms.

Howell added that the executive order targeting Perkins Coie "presents an unprecedented attack" on the principles of the American judicial system and "stigmatizes and penalizes" the firm and its employees because of its past and current representation of clients that take positions that the president disfavors.

"If the founding history of this country is any guide, those who stood up in court to vindicate constitutional rights and, by so doing, served to promote the rule of law, will be the models lauded when this period of American history is written," said Howell.