What is the burden of insufficiency de novo?

Although we review claims of insufficiency de novo, United States v. Harvey, 746 F.3d 87, 89 (2d Cir. 2014), it is well recognized that "a defendant mounting such a challenge bears a heavy burden" because "in assessing whether the evidence was sufficient to sustain a conviction, we review the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, drawing all inferences in the government's favor and deferring to the jury's assessments of the witnesses' credibility." Id. (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). Accordingly, we must sustain the jury's verdict if "any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt." Id. (emphasis omitted) (quoting Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1979)).