[mighty_bander]

I was in a similar situation. The "political animal" in my case managed to turn management against me, and my reward for making the business work was getting cut loose. Get solid evidence and rat the team lead out. It's you or them, and that isn't your fault; there's no dishonor in it. Worst case is that you lose your job, and very likely, you're going to anyway if you continue to do nothing.