The US Department of Justice's (DOJ) investigation into the 1MDB scandal is independent of the discussions today between US President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, the White House said.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the discussions will instead focus on a wide variety of regional and security issues.

"(They will be) talking about ways that they can strengthen counterterrorism cooperation, certainly the halt of ISIS, addressing North Korea and their continued actions, and making sure that we promote maritime security in the South China Sea.

"We're not going to comment on an ongoing investigation being led by DOJ, and that investigation is apolitical and certainly independent of anything taking place tomorrow (which is today)," she said at a press briefing yesterday...