Cassidy

MEMORANDUM ***

William Leon Cassidy challenges his conviction on seven counts of making a false claim to a government agency in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 287 , and seven counts of misappropriation of postal funds in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1711 on two grounds. First, he argues that the evidence was insufficient for the jury to conclude that he had misappropriated postal funds. Second, he argues that he was denied his Sixth Amendment right to counsel because of remarks made by the prosecution during its rebuttal closing argument. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

A Sufficiency of the Evidence

We review de novo whether sufficient evidence supports a conviction. United States v. Diaz-Cardenas, 351 F.3d 404, 407 (9th Cir.2003). Sufficient evidence exists if, viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the government, a rational jury could have found all elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Id.

To establish Cassidy’s guilt for misappropriation of postal funds, the government was required to prove that (1) while Cassidy was an employee of the U.S. Postal Service, (2) money came into his possession, that (3) he intentionally took…